Walk with Me
by whatsername1046
Summary: It had been a struggle since the Turn. Everything in the world had changed for the worst and now people had to fight to survive. Although, Rylee and Dean didn't have to fight as hard once they met up with a few strangers on the highway. Then life after the Turn started to get a little more fascinating.
1. Fearless

"Boy…somethin' I ain't seen in a long time," Dean said as he gazed out over the afternoon scene of the high school. "Didn't ya say ya used ta go here?" Rylee asked, turning to him and squinting her eyes because of the bright sunset. Dean nodded. "Yep. Dropped out ma junior year." He held onto his rifle tightly as he hopped off the hood of the car they were standing on. Rylee followed and Dean took in one more moment of the sight. "This place was always a shithole," he mumbled to himself. She quietly laughed. "And why's that?" They both started walking toward the school. "Drug dealers, dumb rednecks, and a whole lot o' whores," Dean answered, still moving forward and keeping his eyes straight ahead as Rylee followed closely behind. "You don't have much room ta be talking about dumb rednecks," she replied with an amused tone. "You're a bit o' a country hick yourself."

Most people couldn't tell by physical looks, but Dean could be considered a redneck, being born and raised in the south but Rylee was too. Although, she wasn't as southern as he was. He can hunt and he's good at it. He rides around on a four-wheeler, and knows his way around a farm. But his appearance definitely didn't match that. He's covered in tattoos: sleeves on both arms, a large back piece, a chest piece, and the word 'fearless' tattooed across his knuckles in old English font.

"So, junior year, huh?" she asks after a few moments of silence. "Kind of a shame. You only had two years left." Dean scoffed. "I wanted ta get the hell outta there. Never did think I would amount to anything." He wiped his nose on his sleeve. "Don't none of tha' matter now anyway." Rylee nodded. "Yeah, I guess yer right." And he was. The world has pretty much ended, so it didn't matter if you were a high school dropout or had a college degree. It didn't matter anymore. There wasn't any need for paying jobs and currency. Half the population was gone, maybe more than that. Rylee always thought the Pythagorean Theorem, sine, cosine, tangent, quadrilateral, quadratic, and things like that were just useless math terms. But someone out there somewhere used them on a daily basis. Now, they really are useless.

The two maneuvered around the cars, trucks, and other vehicles on the road, stopping for a moment when they reached each one and looking in to see if there was anything useful inside. They did this for a while before Rylee spoke up again. "I dropped out, too. Sophomore year." Dean kept moving forward, but he replied without looking back, "I never would've guessed tha'." She wasn't too sure if he was being sarcastic or not, but she asked, "Why's tha'?" "Yer pretty damn smart. I would've guessed you went ta college at least." That made her laugh. Rylee never really thought of herself as smart. A quick thinker maybe, but never smart. She never made decent grades in school, but then again she never tried or did anything. "Yeah, you think that," she said, and that was the end of that conversation.

The sun would be down soon, and it was never a good idea to be out after dark. That's when the deadlies are most active. Dean didn't seem to mind, though. Rylee wished she could be like him sometimes. He isn't scared of anything. She supposed that's why he has his 'fearless' tattoo. Out of the time she's known him, the words "I'm scared" have never come out of his mouth. He's the most courageous person she knew or have ever known. If he hadn't took her in when he found her, she'd been dead a long time ago. Rylee's entire family was killed when the Turn happened and she went off on her own. She ended up at some kind of warehouse and Dean and his mother was there. He almost killed her at first, but then something stopped him from blowing her brains out. Still to this day, she hasn't found out exactly what it was that stopped him.

They eventually made it to the high school and came up to the doors to the front office. "Let's hope 'ese bad boys ain't locked," Dean said. He grabbed the handle to the door and pulled it open with ease. "Ladies firs'," he said as he smiled at rolled her eyes and walked in and he followed, closing the door behind them. Once they were in the front office, they stopped. "Alrigh'," Dean started. "If I remember correctly tha nurse's office is righ' down tha hall. We'll run in, grab wha' we need, n' get out. We need ta head back ta camp 'fore dark. It'll be close but we have ta hurry." Rylee looked at him. "Why didn't we just turn back?" He looked down for a moment, then looked back up to her. "We can't. Samantha ain't doing too well. We need anything we can find."

Dean turned away and quickly, but quietly made his way through the doors to the office. There was a hallway on each side of the office and a large staircase in front of them. He looked both ways, checking each hallway, then headed towards the one on the right side. He motioned Rylee to keep up and she speed up a little. But suddenly he stopped and held his arm out in front of her. "Wha' is it?" she whispered. He pointed to a classroom with the door standing wide open. "So?" she asked, but then her question was immediately answered when she heard a bone-chilling growl. Dean looked over his shoulder. "No gunfire," he whispered, pausing between words to make sure he was making himself clear. He pulled his knife out, slowly creeping towards the classroom they heard the growling coming from. Dean then turned to Rylee, placing his finger over his lips. She nodded, then he got up against the wall next to the doorway to the classroom and so did she. Then suddenly, he jumped into the doorway and went into the classroom. Rylee could hear the deadly's growls get louder so it must have seen him, but Dean wasn't making a sound. She listened, but then heard something strange. He was laughing. "What's so funny?" she asks, but he ignores her question. "Well, well, well. Look wha' we have here," he said, sounding amused. It was frustrating not knowing what he was so happy about, so Rylee turned to go into the classroom. As soon as she steps inside, she sees him standing in front of a deadly that's pinned against the wall by a large teacher's desk. Dean shook his head and said, "If it ain't Mrs. Bitchface." "Pardon?" Rylee asks, thinking he was talking to her. "Not you. Her," he said as he pointed to the deadly. "Tenth grade science teacher. We hated each other with a burning passion. I thought tha old hag was dead…well, before the Turn happened, I thought she was. Can't believe she was teachin' tha' long." It growled at Dean and reached out for him meanwhile Rylee observed her. She had long, dirty hair that came down just past her shoulders. The skin under her eyes sagged and her lips were pretty much gone. Her arms seemed to be missing some meat also, probably due to the other deadlies feeding on her. She wore a long blue dress that was drenched in blood and she had a very noticeable wound in the crease between her shoulder and neck. It was a bite. "Guessin' tha bite killed her," she said. "Good," Dean replied, then lifted the knife. "I always hated her n' her smart ass mouth."

Suddenly, the sound of metal slicing bone filled the room and blood splattered on the wall behind the deadly when the knife exited out the back of her skull. He pulled the blade out of her head and wiped it on his pants. "She had it comin'," he said with a sigh. Rylee just simply said, "Well."

* * *

Rick and the others, except Jacqui, Andrea, and Dale rushed out of the underground area of the C.D.C.. T-Dog ran to the front entrance and tried to open it, but the doors wouldn't budge. He ran over to the key pad and pressed every button on it, but nothing happened. "Daryl," Rick called. Daryl tossed him one of the axes he was carrying and they swung at the windows of the C.D.C. with every bit of strength they had. "This is no use!" Rick backed away from the window, but Daryl continued to swing at the window, leaving nothing but scratches. "Daryl, look out!" It was T-Dog running towards the glass with a chair. Daryl jumped out of the way and T-Dog charged, but like the axes, the chair was no use. Shane, standing off to the side, loaded his gun quickly.

They didn't have much time at all. Only minutes. If they didn't get that glass busted, they would be consumed in flames. "Ya'll get down! Get down," Shane called, and everyone ducked. He cocked his gun and walked over to the window. Lifting his gun, he shot at it twice. Nothing. "The glass won't break?" Carol's daughter, Sophia asked. But then Carol got up, digging through her purse. "Rick. I have something that might help." He looked over to her as she approached. "Carol, I don't think a nail file's gonna do it," Shane told her, but she ignored him still digging in her bag. "Your first morning at camp," she told Rick, "When I washed your uniform, I found this in your pocket." She held out the grenade-like weapon that Rick had gotten out of the tank in the streets of Atlanta. Rick grabbed it from her, then headed back to the windows. Everybody immediately started getting down on the ground. He knelt down next to the glass and pulled the clip off. After placing it on the ground, he bolted towards the others and it went off. A loud explosion sounded and the ground vibrated along with the sound of glass shattering. Everyone looked up and saw the window was broken. "Come on!" They all rushed to it, and each one jumped out onto the ground, but the loud noise attracted walkers. Rick and Shane were both aiming and firing, clearing out a way for the others. Daryl then headed for one and swung the ax in his hand, slicing its head off. There were just a couple more gun fires before everyone jumped into the vehicles.

Rick started to crank the engine to the RV when Lori pointed and yelled, "Wait, wait, wait! They're coming." He looked up to see Andrea and Dale climb hop down from where the window used to be. Everyone watched them as they ran across the grass. Rick looked down at his watch, breathing heavily. He looked back up and blew the horn a couple times. Lori stuck her head out of the window, waved her arm and yelled, "Get down!" Everyone in the RV climbed to the back and the others got down in their vehicles as Andrea and Dale jumped down behind a barrier. Then it happened. There was suddenly a loud explosion, then the C.D.C. building began to crumble apart and be engulfed by flames. It was so loud and felt just like an earthquake. Everyone raised up, staring in awe as what was left of the building now fell to the ground.

Dale looked over at Andrea, then leaned down to help her up. "Come on," he said. The two got up and headed to the RV as Glenn swung the door open. "Get in!" They quickly rushed to it, and climbed in then sat down at the table. After a moment of everyone catching their breath and exchanging relieved expressions, Rick started the engine to the RV and made a U-turn, then began to drive away, and the others followed.

* * *

The ground lightly shook under Rylee and Dean's feet as they looked through cabinets and drawers in the nurse's office. "Woah." Dean turned to Rylee. "Did you hear tha'?" "What tha hell was that?" she asked him. He stood there for a second before answering. "I don't know. I think it was an explosion." He looked down, but then looked back up and an expression of panic spread across Dean's face. "We gotta go. Now." He quickly zipped up his backpack and put it on his shoulders, then tossed Rylee hers. "What? Why?" she asked him. He looked at her. "Tha' explosion is gonna attract every deadly outside of Atlanta. They're gonna be passin' by this way, comin' from all over. We need ta leave 'fore they get here and we gotta get back ta Sammy." Rylee threw her backpack onto her shoulders, then loaded her rifle. "That means we'll have ta deal with some on tha way." Dean just nodded.

They both ran out of the nurse's office and down the hallway. Dean looked back as he heard growling from behind him. Deadlies were coming around the corner towards the back of the hallway and he looked at Rylee. "We gotta haul ass!" Rylee looked back and saw them, then sped up faster. Once they made it to the front office doors, there were deadlies falling down the main staircase. Rylee aimed her gun, but Dean pushed it down. "We can't worry about them! We gotta get out of here!" They turned and ran into the office, letting the doors close behind them. Rylee faced the inside of the school, backing away slowly from the door as the deadlies gnashed their teeth against the glass. She gasped when she backed into Dean, who was facing the other way. "Hey, wha' are you…" She trailed off when she turned around and looked out the front doors and saw them covering the school lawn. "How…how did it happen tha' fast?" Dean asked. Rylee just stared as they walked across the grass. "I…I don't know."


	2. Highway

Dean and Rylee stood back to back in the center of the office. "We're gonna have ta make a run for it," Dean said in a low voice. "What?" Rylee asked. "Are you crazy?" "No, I'm desperate. There's no way tha' we can kill all of 'em without bein' ambushed. It's our only chance. We can out run 'em, but we're gonna have ta find a place to hide when we get outta breath." Rylee inhaled deeply, then slowly let it out. Suddenly, Dean ran for the front entrance. "Come on!" he called, and Rylee headed over. "This is insane," she told him as he opened the doors.

As soon as the doors came open, they both bolted in the direction their camp was. The growls were coming from all around them. Some were close, some were far. But neither one of them stopped nor even looked back. They just kept running. And it seemed like they were running forever. But eventually they couldn't hear the growls anymore and they were deep in the woods. They stopped for a second to catch their breath. "We can't stand here for long. There's gonna be more," Dean told her. Rylee looked at him and said, "We can't jus' keep runnin' like this. They're gonna catch up eventualy." "I know," Dean replied. "That's why I said we can't stand here for long."

The two eventually made it back to their camp after dark and headed inside the shed everyone slept in. Dean was leaned over Samantha. "Sammy? Can ya hear me?" She didn't respond. Just let out quiet, almost silent groans. "Jus' hold on. I'm gonna see if I got anything that's gonna help you. Jameson, look through my bag n' see what I got." "Do you not know what all you have?" he asked. "No," Rylee interrupted. "We had ta get out. There was an explosion somewhere in Atlanta. Deadlies surrounded tha school. We had ta get outta there." Jameson just nodded, then started going through Dean's bag. "Most I see here is useless. Ah, wait a second." He pulled out a bottle from the bag and opened it. "The Tylenol might bring down her fever." He went to give the pills to Samantha, but Rylee turned to Dean. "Can I talk to you?" Jameson looked up for a moment, but then turned back to Samantha.

Rylee headed out the door, still holding her rifle, and was followed by Dean. She turned to him as soon as he stepped onto the grass. "She's not gonna make it. Do you really think some Tylenol is gonna help a deadly bite?" "No," Dean answered softly as Rylee paced back and forth. "We either gotta shoot 'er or leave 'er. Those things will be here any minute. Now, we've gotta go." Dean shushed her. "Keep yer voice down. He's gonna hear you." Rylee just scoffed and continued to pace back and forth. Samantha was Jameson's wife. She was bitten just a few hours ago, right before Dean and Rylee left. Dean had decided to go on this suicide mission just to keep Jameson hopeful. When in reality, they all knew there was no hope for Sammy. But her husband is trying to do anything he can. "We can't sit here and watch her turn then let her get after one of us. She has ta die, Dean. She is going to anyway. We can't let one bite take us all down." He was silent. He didn't say anything to her. Hell, what could he say? She was right and he knew it. The hard part was telling that to Jameson. "I'll go talk to 'im," Dean finally said. "Stay out here and keep watch. If ya see anything, come tell us." Rylee nodded and Dean turned and headed back inside.

He made his way back over to Samantha's husband and stood beside him. "James, you've got a decision to make." He sat there, brushing her hair out of her face. "And what's that?" he asked. Dean sighed and looked down. "You know what it is." Dean found this somewhat difficult. He's had to do harder things, but it was just the fact that he was making a man choose to either leave his wife for dead or kill her. "I can't make that decision," he simply told him. Dean folded his arms. "Those things are gonna be here. I don't know when, but it'll be soon. We can't drag 'er around. It's a wonder she ain't turned yet-" "I'm not leaving her," Jameson snapped. There was an awkward silence there for a moment, but Dean finally said, "If ya don't leave 'er, then we'll have no choice but ta leave you. I'm sorry." "Dean!" Rylee called from outside. "They're coming!" Dean cursed under his breath and looked out the window. Sure enough, a pack of deadlies was stumbling out of the woods. He turned around to grab his and Rylee's bags, when he heard Rylee start unloading gun shots. "What's it gonna be, James?" he asked as he backed towards the door. "Leave me here," he called to him. Dean didn't want to. He couldn't leave him. But he knew he had to. There was no time to argue. "I wish there was another way. I'm sorry." He picked up his rifle and headed out the door where Rylee was. "Where's tha wheels?" Rylee asked. "Out back. Let's go!" The two hurried around the shed where Dean's red four-wheeler was. He reached into his pocket, pulling out the keys and hopping on. Rylee hopped on the back and the two drove off, leaving Jameson and his wife for dead.

They drove through the woods and made it onto a road. They drove for a few silent hours. "There's a highway a few good miles up ahead. There's a lot of broken down cars. I'm sure we can find some supplies there," Dean told Rylee. She didn't respond. She was too busy thinking about Jameson and Samantha. It wasn't supposed to end that way, but it did. "Do ya think they made it out?" she asked Dean. "Honestly?" he asked. "No. I don't." There was another silent moment before she replied. "I don't either…" "He had a gun," he informed her. "It's possible he killed some, made 'is way out." No. There's no way. There were too many for the two themselves to handle. "Maybe," Rylee mumbled to herself.

* * *

Dale drove the RV with Daryl ahead on his motorcycle. "Oh, geez," he sighed. He slowly pulled it to a stop. There were too many cars on the highway to get through. Daryl drove a head a little, but then turned around and pulled up next to Dale. "You see a way through?" he asked him. Daryl looked back, then jerked his head back that direction and turned around, leading Dale through the mess of vehicles. "Eh, maybe we should just go back," Glenn said. "There's an interstate bypass-" "We can't spare the fuel," Dale interrupted. They really couldn't. They were running low, and going back was no option. It would be too dangerous.

The rest in the RV watched as Dale maneuvered through the cars, followed by Rick, his family, Carol, and her daughter in the other car. The scene was just…eerie. There were cars with their doors all open, sitting on the side of the road. Some were flipped over. Some had bodies in them. "Geez," Glenn said to himself, looking around. And it was obvious the others were thinking the same thing. "Sure we can get through here?" he asked Dale. But then suddenly, there was a loud noise that came from the hood of the RV and smoke started pouring out. It gave off a high-pitched scratching sound and Dale turned the engine off. Rick stopped his car behind him, then got out, followed by his wife, Lori. Dale pushed the door open and stepped out onto the highway. "I said it. Didn't I say it? A thousand times. Dead in the water." "Problem, Dale?" Shane asked as he followed him to the front of the RV. "Well, this is the small matter of being stuck in the middle of nowhere with no hope of…" He trailed off when he looked around at all the cars meanwhile Daryl walked around to the back of a car and started digging through the trunk. "Okay, that was dumb." "Can't find a radiator hose here," Daryl explained, "but there's a whole bunch o' stuff we can find."

"Siphon more fuel from these cars for a start," T-Dog suggested.

"Maybe some water?" Carol asked.

"Food?" Glenn added.

"This is a graveyard," Lori interrupted, causing everyone to turn and look at her. Then they all exchanged looks. "I don't know how I feel about this." Daryl turned and went back to digging through the junk in the back of the car. "Come on, ya'll. Let's look around," T-Dog said as he walked away. Lori took Carl's hand and they went to do what T-Dog suggested. They walked up to one car that had a stench coming from the inside. Lori leaned down to look in and discover a body sitting in the passenger seat, surrounded by flies. Carol appeared by her side and looked in, then turned to the children. "Kids, don't look."

Back over at the RV, Dale had the hood open and Glenn stepped up with two screwdrivers. "Okay. Which one?" he asked. "The flathead," Dale answered. "The radiator hose clamp is always a flathead." He then looked back to Glenn and handed him back the screwdriver. "Here. You do it. Learn something." Then Dale walked away and Glenn went to work.

Carol had found herself going through a suitcase full of clothes. She looked down and picked up a red blouse, then held it against her, trying to imagine how it would look on her. She smiled to herself, but then looked up to see Lori watching her. Lori turned away, but Carol said to her, "Ed never let me wear nice things like this." She started to pull the suitcase out. "Gonna need clothes." Lori walked over to the same car and turned to her son. "Hey, Carl." He turned around and looked at her. "Always within my sight, okay?" He nodded. "You too, Sophia," Carol told her daughter.

Rick, who was carrying around a gun, looked up at Dale, who was now on top of the RV looking around with a pair of binoculars. "It's good," he told Rick. After he had walked away and everyone went back to looking, Dale continued to keep a look out. He then noticed something off in the distance. He went to look through his binoculars again and Rick noticed. He raised his gun and peered through the scope. After moving it around, he saw what Dale was looking at. A walker. But it wasn't just the one. Another one came walking around a large truck. Suddenly, a whole group came around the truck. "Oh, Christ," Rick said to himself.

* * *

Dean and Rylee were back on the road again. It's been a while since they ate. They were tired, hungry, and thirsty. Rylee was losing hope of ever finding this highway that Dean told her about. "How far are we?" she asked. "Not sure," Dean answered. He looked around and saw that they were coming up on a bunch of cars scattered all over the road. "Wait a second," Dean said. "I think we're on it." Rylee sighed in relief. "Thank god." Dean stopped the four-wheeler and turned it off. The two hopped up and looked around. "Damn. Where ta start?" Rylee asked.

They started walking and looking around. The cars were filled with all kinds of things from clothes to books, toys to jewelry. But they just couldn't ignore the stench coming from some of the cars. Rylee leaned down and looked into one and gagged at the scent. She covered her nose and mouth. "I think there migh' be somethin' dead in yer car, sir," she said to the corpse sitting in the front seat. "Oh, yeah. I should warn ya. These people been dead a while." "Okay, smart ass," she fired back to Dean. They continued looking around until Rylee noticed something. There was movement a little ways ahead of her. "Hey," she said, and her partner looked over. She pointed to it, and realized it was a person. No. Wait. It wasn't a person. No…it was one of those things. And there were more. "Get down," Dean whispered. She did as she was told and he quickly made his way over to her. They both knelt down next to a truck. "Get under it," he instructed her. "What? I'm not doing tha'." "Just do it, Rylee." She quickly got down and rolled under the truck and Dean did the same. The growls from the undead were approaching, but Rylee noticed something else. "You see tha' RV over there?" she asked in a whisper. "Wha' about it?" Rylee looked one more time, but she was certain she saw someone. "There's someone on top of it." Dean guided his eyes to what Rylee was looking at. "Yeah. I think I see 'im." He then slowly crawled out from under the truck and moved forward. "Wait. Where tha hell are you going?" Rylee decided she had no choice but to follow him. "Just stay low n' you'll be fine," he ordered.

They stayed on the outer side of the road and headed toward the RV they had their eyes on. Dean observed carefully and spotted another person and pointed. "There. There's someone else. See tha' black guy over there?" Rylee nodded and they both watched him. The guy creeped over to a car and hid behind it. But as he knelt down, he somehow cut a deep gash in his arm, because they both saw blood squirting. She cringed at it, even though she's seen worse. He got up and ran behind some cars, causing Dean and Rylee to lose track of him. "Where'd he go?" Rylee asked. The two moved forward a little more and spotted him. They could only see his feet, but they found him hiding behind another car. Rylee wasn't sure what to do. Should they help him? Or should they look for any more people? Or should they just get out of there? The deadlies hadn't seen them yet. They should probably get away while they can. But Dean was still looking around. "I see more people. They're under those cars over there." He was right. There were more people. They both turned their attention back to the guy they were watching. He started moving again, and was stumbling everywhere. The blood coming from his arm was leaving a trail.

They watched him as he fell back against a car and a deadly head straight for him. Dean raised his gun and aimed, but Rylee stopped him. "You can't. Every one o' them things will be after us. There's nothin' we can do." Turning back to him, Rylee saw another guy appear behind a vehicle. This one was white with short brown hair. His face was dirty and sweaty. He bolted up, throwing his crossbow onto the hood of a car and attacking the deadly, shoving a knife into the back of its head. He then took the corpse and threw it on top of the black guy. After doing so, he dragged one out of a car and pulled it on top of himself. Rylee and Dean watched as the things walked on by, not stopping for one second. Once they were all gone, the white guy in the leather vest pushed the dead body off of him, then went over to the other one and did the same and helped him up. But their attention directed elsewhere when they heard what sounded like a little girl. "There," Dean pointed. The deadlies were reaching under a car where a little girl was hiding. She scooted her way over to the other side, then got up and headed into the woods. A man emerged from one of the cars and went after her.

Once they were both gone, the people started getting up off the ground. "We should go," Dean said. But then, there was a sudden zooming sound right next to Rylee's ear. They both ducked and she looked over. "It's an arrow. Tha' asshole shot at me." "Is it a walker?" someone called. "Nah," the one with the crossbow answered. "It's hidin'. Walkers don't hide."


	3. Without a Paddle

Dean and Rylee stayed low while the one with the crossbow slowly made his way towards them. "Wha' do we do?" Dean asked Rylee, since she was quick to come up with ideas. But when he looked over, she wasn't there. "Rylee?" He looked for a moment, then shook his head and looked back to the guy in the leather vest. "Daryl, ya see anything?" someone called. But the guy, Daryl, didn't respond. He looked around a car, then turned and looked the other way. Suddenly Rylee appeared behind him. _Oh, no. She's gonna get herself killed_. Dean watched as Rylee kicked him hard in the back of the knee, sending him down on his knees and his crossbow fell to the ground. "You better watch where you aim that thing," she spat as she aimed the pistol at him. "What tha…? Yer a damn girl," Daryl exclaimed as he turned to look at her. "Yeah, I'm a damn girl that's about to stomp yer ass. Tha' arrow missed me by an eyelash. What tha hell were you thinkin'?" Daryl turned and looked at her again. "Thought you might've been one of 'em nasty-lookin' things. Guess I was righ'." Rylee's face scrunched up with anger and she kneed Daryl in the back, earning a grunt of pain from him. Dean stood up and headed towards them, but then he saw the rest of Daryl's people walk up behind them and one of them had a gun, so he stopped in his tracks. Dean immediately put his hands up. "Woah, hold on now. We ain't lookin' for trouble. We were jus' leavin'." "Tha hell we are," Rylee said. Dean glared at her. "Put tha gun down, damnit. Yer 'bout ta get yourself killed." He then turned back to the others. "We ain't lookin' to hurt nobody. She's just a bit of a hot head. We didn't know anyone would be here, jus' lookin' for supplies," he explained. "Where'd you come from?" the man with the gun asked. "Don't worry about tha'. Get this crazy bitch off of me," Daryl demanded. Rylee pointed the gun at his head. "What was that?" "Rylee," Dean scolded. She looked over at him. "Put…the gun…down. Now." Rylee hesitated for a moment, then lowered her gun and walked back over to Dean. "He hurts one of us, it's on you," she said as she stood beside him. Daryl leaned down, grabbed his crossbow, and then turned to the one with the gun. "Shane, you take care of 'em. I'm goin' back over here, watch for Rick n' Sophia," he spat. And with that, Daryl was gone. But the one Daryl called Shane, lowered his gun. "Now. Where'd ya'll come from?" he asked. "We were livin' in a shed outside Atlanta," Dean started. "There were two more of us, but…well, I'm sure ya can guess wha' happened. There was an explosion somewhere in the city and it attracted tha deadlies. We had ta get a move on. Our camp was taken over by 'em. We've been out of food n' water for a while." Shane looked at them for a moment, then looked to an old man standing off to the side. "Either one of you bit?" he asked as he looked back. "No," Rylee answered. "You can check us if you want, I don't care. We ain't bit." "My apologies," Dean interrupted. "Rylee here has a bit of an attitude problem." Shane smiled and laughed. "Yeah, Daryl, the one she almost shot…he gets a little fired up every now and then." Dean looked down. "So, Rylee, huh? And your name is?" Shane asked. "Dean," he simply answered. "Okay, Dean," Shane said. "You can come on back with us to the RV. But you try anything stupid, I'll have to put a hole in your head." "Fair enough," he replied.

They had gone back to the RV and were given food and water. After Rylee finished, she thanked them and headed out to where Daryl was, meanwhile Dean discussed with the others. She looked around, then saw him sitting on the rail next to the road, staring off into the woods. Rylee slowly walked over to him, then sat on the rail next to him. Daryl looked over at her with a confused look. "Hey, uh…'bout wha' happened over there…I apologize." He raised an eyebrow at her. "You were jus' protectin' your people. You kinda had a right ta shoot at me," she told him. "Well, I thought ya were a walker at firs'. But then I seen ya duck." Rylee looked out into the woods. "Yer a pretty good shot with that thing." He scoffed. "It's been a while since I missed ma target. Yer lucky I was a lil' bit shook from tha' horde o' geeks," he said, then turned to her. "Else I woulda killed ya." Rylee laughed quietly, looking through the trees. "Who was tha' lil' girl?" she asked. "Dean n' I watched tha whole thing go down." Daryl sighed. "Carol's girl. Rick went after 'er, though. He'll bring 'er back." "Wha' makes ya so sure of tha'?" Rylee asked him, resulting in him giving her a harsh look. "Well, ya seen 'im follow 'er out there, didn't ya?" he asked as he pointed out to the woods. She didn't respond.

It wasn't long before the one named Rick came back. Alone. Obviously, he wanted to know why Dean and Rylee were there. Shane explained everything, and then a few guys from the group, Dean, and Rylee went out into the woods to look for Sophia. "Ya sure this is tha spot?" Daryl asked as he knelt down beside the creek bank where Rick claimed to have left her. He had told Sophia to hide there as he led the walkers away. When he went back, she wasn't there. "I left her right here," he replied then pointed up the creek. "I drew the walkers away in that direction up the creek." "Without a paddle," Daryl mumbled. "Seems where we've landed." Rick continued. "She was gone by the time I got back here. I figured she'd just took off and headed back to the group." He pointed off into a different direction. "I told her to go back that way and keep the sun on her left shoulder." Daryl walked over to the bank in the direction Rick pointed, which was where Glenn was standing. "Hey, show 'round. Why don't ya step off ta one side? Yer muckin' up tha trail." Glenn did as he was told. "Assumin' she knows her left from her right," Shane mumbled to himself. "He's got a point," Rylee said in a low voice to Dean. "She's just a kid." Rick replied, "Shane, she understood me fine." Shane spoke back to him. "The kid's tired and scared, man. She had a close call with two walkers. Kinda wonder how much you said stuck." Rylee sighed and folded her arms. She just wanted to get back to the highway, get supplies, and leave. She didn't want any part of this goose chase. "Got clear prints righ' here," Daryl interrupted and everyone turned to him. "She did like ya said, headed back ta tha highway." Rick walked over and Daryl started to climb up on the bank. "Alrigh', spread out," he said. Rylee turned to Dean. "Us too?" she asked. Dean looked around at everyone then turned back to Rylee. "I s'pose so. They helped us out, now we should help them."

Daryl led the way as Glenn, Shane, Rick, Rylee, and Dean followed. But Daryl came to a halt and got down on one knee, looking at the ground. While the others were distracted, Rylee grabbed Dean's arm and pulled him aside. "Let's jus' leave. This girl ain't our problem." Dean looked down, then back at her. "Rylee, she's jus' a kid. We gotta find her. She's alone somewhere out here. Her momma's back at tha highway waitin' for her ta come back out these woods." She didn't respond right away, just sighed. "Alrigh'," she said softly, giving up on the discussion. "She ran off tha' way," Daryl said, pointing off to the right of them. "Why would she do that?" Glenn asked. "Maybe she saw somethin'? Spooked 'er? Maybe run off?" Shane suggested. "A walker?" Glenn asked. "What else?" Rylee asked Glenn sarcastically. Dean mumbled to her, "Shut up." Daryl shook his head. "I don't see any other footprints. Jus' hers." There was a split second of silence until Shane broke it. "So, what do we do?" Dean and Rylee looked at each other, but Rick spoke up. "Better if you and Glenn go back up to the highway. People are gonna start panicking." Shane stood and looked at Rick. "Let 'em know we're on her trail doin' everything we can, but most of all, keep everybody calm." Dean turned to Rylee. "You go on, too. I'll stay and help Rick n' Daryl." Rylee raised an eyebrow. "Really? You're gonna send me back? Case you didn't know, I'm not very good at comfortin' people." Dean thought for a second and considered it "Good point. You stay. I'll go."

Glenn and Shane started heading back, followed by Dean. Daryl started walking, but then looked back to see Rylee just standing there. "Ya comin'?" he asked. She sighed and moved forward behind Rick.

* * *

Dean looked over and saw Carol standing next to the road, staring off into the woods. He felt a pang of pity hit him right in the chest and made his way over to her. "Yer little girl's gonna be alrigh'." She didn't move. Just stood there. "Y'know, I taught Rylee how ta hunt and track myself. They'll bring her back." "Daryl's good at it too," she said with a smile, but it quickly faded. Dean noticed and the feel of pity grew stronger. He has always been sympathetic. Sometimes, he knew how to be a little harsh, but it was only with certain people. Comforting people was something he was good at. Sometimes. "Well, with two of 'em out there, plus Rick, there's no way she's gonna get away from 'em," he said as he smiled at her. Once again, he gained no reaction from her. He decided to leave her be. "Let me know if there's anything I can do," he said as he patted her on the shoulder and walked away.

After he left, Carol turned and looked over at Dale, who was in front of the RV. She looked back at the woods one last time, then made her way over to him. "Why aren't we all out there looking? Why are we moving cars?" she asked. "We'll have to clear enough room so I can get the RV turned around as soon as it's running," Dale answered. "Now that we have fuel, we can go back to a bypass that Glenn found on the map." "Goin' back's gonna be easier then tryna get through this mess," Shane said as he walked up. "We're not going anywhere until my daughter gets back," Carol said back. Dean looked up from a car he had started going through after hearing Carol make that statement. He watched as she made her way back over to the side of the road as the others talked amongst themselves. "Okay. Come on, people. We still got a lot to do," Shane said. "Let's stay on it. Come on."

Back in the woods, Daryl, Rick, and Rylee were still looking for Sophia. Rylee walked next to Daryl as Rick followed, but they stopped. "The tracks are gone," Rick said. "Nah, they're faint," Daryl corrected. "They ain't gone. She came through here." Rylee made sure to keep a look out for any, what they called, walkers. There was no telling when they would be caught up in tracking this girl and they come at them. "How can you tell?" Rick asked. "I don't see anything…dirt…grass." "It's there," Rylee assured him. They walked further a little bit but Daryl asked Rylee, without looking away from the ground, "Wha' are you doin' out here anyway?" There was a hint of harshness in his voice. She could tell he didn't like her very much. Or maybe it was just that he didn't trust her. "I jus' wanna get tha' little girl back to her momma. I know tha' I don't know 'er or anything, but I don't really like tha idea of 'er bein' out here alone." Rick looked back at her. "Well, we appreciate the help," he said. Rylee nodded.

There was suddenly a noise. It sounded like something rustled in the bushes and everyone immediately got down and aimed their weapons. "Wha' tha hell was that?" Rylee asked. "Not sure," Daryl answered. He and Rick exchanged looks and slowly crept towards the noise and stopped again. They all looked and saw what appeared to be a human. But is wasn't a person. It was a walker. Rick looked at Rylee, then to Daryl. He motioned Rick to go forward and he was going to the right. He then turned to Rylee, pointed at her, and then pointed straight down. She got the message. Stay put. She just rolled her eyes and watched the two go off into different directions. Stay put? Really? For a moment there, she was angry. But then she realized that it didn't really take three people to take down one walker. Rick ran off down the hill and stopped in front of it. He whistled, getting its attention and it growled loudly. But there was a sudden silence as an arrow went straight through its. Daryl really was a good shot at that thing.

The three made their way over to the walker and Daryl pulled his arrow out of its head. "Good work, hot shot," Rylee said with a smirk. He replied with a scoff. He looked around and called out for Sophia, but as expected from Rylee, there was no reply. Rick kneeled down, pulling a pair of gloves out of his pocket and putting them on. Rylee watched curiously, not knowing what they were about to do. Daryl, too, noticed this. "What're ya lookin' for?" "Skin. Under the nails," Rick replied. He flipped it over and looked into its mouth. "It fed recently." Oh no, Rylee thought to herself. Please not the girl. "There's flesh caught in its teeth," Rick said, pulling something out of its mouth. "Yeah, wha' kinda flesh?" Daryl asked. "Only one way to know for sure," Rick said, then ripped the walker's shirt open and took out his knife. "Woah, woah. What are you about to do?" They both ignored her. "I'll do it," Daryl said, hovering over the corpse and taking out his knife, which was larger than Rick's. He held the knife above its stomach, ready to stab. "Wait, you're cuttin' tha' thing open?" Rylee asked. Rick looked at her and replied, "We have no choice." And that's when Daryl's knife stabbed into it. Just the sound alone was enough to make Rylee cringe. She held her hand in front of her nose and mouth as an odor escaped from inside the body. Daryl drug his knife down the walker's abdomen then stabbed it again. Rylee turned away, feeling nauseous. "What's tha matter?" Daryl teased. "Weak stomach?" He chuckled then went back to work, stabbing and dragging the knife through the rotten flesh. "Now's tha bad part," he said to Rick. "Ya mean tha' wasn't tha bad part?" Rylee asked in disgust. Daryl chuckled again. "Tha show ain't over, darlin'." He then began feeling around inside the corpse laying before him. The insides of the body were a sickly dark green, almost black. The more Daryl dug around in it, the stronger the scent. She turned around, gagging and grabbing her stomach. But nothing came up. When she turned back around, Daryl had its stomach sitting on the ground. Rick then took his knife and cut it open. He scooped up some of the contents on his knife, then slung them on the ground. Daryl stuck his knife into the pouch and brought it back up. Something was sticking on the end that looked like the skull of a small animal. Rylee sighed in relief. "A woodchuck," she said. Daryl stood and Rick looked up at him. "At least we know," he said. "At least we know," he said in agreement as he picked his crossbow up. "Yeah. At least," Rylee repeated, still feeling nauseous.


	4. Game Over

The sun was just going down when Rick and the other two came out of the woods. "They're back," Rylee heard Glenn say as they walked up to the pavement. Dean made his way over and exchanged looks with Rylee, noticing there were only three people instead of four. "You didn't find her," Carol said in a panicked matter. "Her trail went cold," Rick explained. "We'll pick it up again at first light." Carol began to cry. "We can't leave my daughter out there all alone, to spend the night all alone in the woods." "Huntin' in tha dark's no good," Daryl told her softly. "Jus' be trippin' over ourselves. More people would get lost." Rylee stepped over the rail and made her way over to her partner, standing next to him. "She's twelve, she can't be out there on her own. You didn't find anything?" Carol asked, tears building in her eyes. Rylee looked at Dean and he was looking down. She always thought he could somehow feel certain people's emotions. For most, it didn't affect him. But others, it was like he could feel their pain. "Now, I know this is hard, but I'm asking you not to panic. We know she was out there." "And we tracked 'er for a while," Daryl spoke up. "We did. We did tha best we could, Carol," Rylee added. Rick spoke to everyone, "We need to make this an organized effort. Daryl knows the woods better than anybody. I've asked him to oversee this." Then Carol looked down at Daryl's clothes, noticing the blood on him. "Is that…is that blood?" Daryl looked down and it appeared he had forgotten all about it. It seemed she started to panic even more because her breathing got heavier. "We took down a walker," Rick explained. "A walker. Oh my god," Carol breathed out. Rick was trying his best to calm her. "There was no sign that it was anywhere near Sophia." "How can you know that?" Andrea asked him. Rick and Rylee both turned to Daryl. He hesitated for a moment before answering. "Cut tha sumbitch open. Made sure." Dean then looked at Rylee with an eyebrow raised. "He did," she simply said, followed by a cringe as the image flashed in her head. A disgusted look spread across his face. Carol then sat down on the rail and Lori sat next to her. She looked up a Rick. "How could you…just leave her out there…to begin with?" she asked between breaths. "How could you just leave her?" Rick's facial expression changed. "Those two walkers were on us. I-I had to draw 'em off. It was her best chance."

Dean and Rylee turned to walk away. They stepped over by a car and Dean leaned up against it. "Poor woman," he mumbled. Then he looked at Rylee. "Did Daryl really cut tha' thing open?" Rylee nodded. "He sure as hell did." "Tch. I'm glad you stayed instead o' me." Rylee looked up at the evening sky and watched the orange and pink clouds float overhead. She then thought back to the woods, and how Daryl acted around her. "I don't think Daryl trusts us. He seems kinda bothered by us bein' here," she said low. Dean sighed. "Well, we are a couple strangers. I wouldn't trust us either. Plus, he doesn't exactly seem like tha welcomin' type." Then a big grin spread across his face and he elbowed her. "Maybe he likes you." This caused Rylee to roll her eyes and fold her arms. "Oh, please. Tha bastard shot an arrow at me." "Yeah, but he thought you were a deadly." She could feel Dean's eyes on her and she could sense that stupid grin he still had on his face. "Ya like him, don't you?" "Yes, that's exactly why I aimed a gun at his head," she said sarcastically and punched Dean in the arm. "Ow! Damn. Y'know, you hit like a man." Then she herself grinned. "Yeah, and I'll kick yer ass like one, too." They both fell silent and looked over at Carol, which caused their smiles to quickly disappear. "Man…shame on us. We're over here jokin' 'round and that poor woman over there's jus' broken." Rylee looked down as she was showered with guilt. Dean was right. It wasn't the time to joke around. She looked over at Daryl, who was looking at Sophia's mother. She could tell he felt bad about not bringing Sophia back. Hell, she did too and she didn't even know these people. And now there she was, joking around with Dean like some immature kid. "My little girl got left in the woods," Carol choked out. No one said anything, just stood there.

* * *

It was early the next day when they all got up. Everyone gathered around and Rick spread out a set of sharp tools on the hood of the car they were standing around. "Everybody takes a weapon." He backed away from them. "These aren't exactly the kind of weapons we need," Andrea stated with a hand on her hip. "What about the guns?" "We been over that," Shane called from over at the RV. "Dale, Rick, and I are carryin' 'em. Can't have people poppin' off rounds every time a tree rustles." "It's not the trees I'm worried about," Andrea mumbled. Shane responded immediately. "Say somebody fires at the wrong moment, herd happens to be passin' by. See, then it's game over for all of us. So, you need to get over it," he said as he threw his bag over his shoulder. "He's right," Dean said. "We can't have any gun fire. That'll put us in some trouble." As soon as Dean finished his sentence, Daryl announced, "Tha idea is ta take tha creek up 'bout five miles, turn 'round, and come back down tha other side. Chances are she'll be by tha creek. It's 'er only landmark." "Stay quiet, stay sharp," Rick added. "Keep space between you, but always stay within sight of each other." "Everybody assemble your packs," Shane called out. Rick turned and walked over to the RV. "Dale, get on those repairs. We gotta get this RV ready to move." Dale stood. "I don't wanna stay here a minute longer than we have to. Good luck out there. Bring Sophia back." Rick nodded, then patted his son on the shoulder. "Keep an eye on Carl while we're gone?"

Dean and Rylee were off to the side, getting their bags ready. They already had some of their own supplies, and didn't feel the need to take any from Rick's group. "Alrigh', now look," Dean said. "You stay close ta either me, Daryl, or Rick. Can't have you wonderin' off." "I know what I'm doin'. I'm not a child. This isn't the first time I've had to look for someone," she said with a hint of attitude. "Alrigh'," was all Dean said to that. She looked inside her bag and spotted a box of ammunition. "They didn't take our guns," she pointed out. "Why'd they let us keep ours?" Dean shrugged. "I guess they trust us enough ta let us keep 'em."

Rylee heard Dale say something to someone about not putting him in a position. She tried not to eavesdrop on his conversation, but they were right there. She wasn't really paying attention at first so she didn't know who he was talking to. "I'm not going out there without my gun." It was Andrea. She then heard Dean snort at the sound of her voice. Rylee guessed he didn't like her very much. "I'll even say please." "I'm doing this for you," Dale said. "No, you're doing this for yourself. You need to stop." Dean and Rylee looked at each other, then went back to arranging their bags, pretending like they were minding their own business. "What do you think's gonna happen? I'm gonna stick it in my mouth and pull the trigger the moment you hand it to me?" The atmosphere changed, and Rylee could tell Dean was uncomfortable. She was sort of feeling that way herself. But she then noticed that everyone else was listening to their discussion. "I know you're angry at me," Dale said. "That much is clear. But if I hadn't done what I did, you'd be dead now." Andrea almost cut him off, but he managed to finish his sentence before she spoke. "Jenner gave us an option, and I chose to stay."

"You chose suicide."

"So? What's that to you? You barely know me."

"I know Amy's death devastated you."

"Keep her out of this. This is not about Amy, this is about us." Dean had stopped doing what he was doing and was just standing there. He seemed lost, like he didn't really know what to do. Rylee looked back down at her bag, doing the same. Then Andrea added to her previous statement. "And if I had decided I had nothing left to live for, who the hell are you to tell me otherwise, to force my hand like that?" Her voice cracked a little, like she was about to cry. "I saved your life," Dale said softly. "No, Dale. I saved yours. You forced that on me. I didn't want your blood on my hands and that is the only reason I left that building." Building? What building? Rylee decided to try to ignore them. She didn't want to listen anymore and neither did Dean. But she began listening again. "I wanted to die my way. Not ripped apart by some drooling freaks. That was my choice. You took that away from me, Dale." "Come on," Dean said softly. "Let's go over here." It seemed he'd had enough of that. She couldn't really blame him. Dean had been at that point one time, and Rylee assumed that it was reminding him of it. They made their way past the RV and went a few cars down. "I couldn't listen ta that anymore." "I know," Rylee mumbled. They stood there in an awkward silence for a few moments until they saw Andrea walk away from Dale. Everyone had turned and headed out towards the woods, so they turned and followed.

Everyone walked in a line, led by Daryl and the two following behind Rick. They noticed Daryl slow down a little as they came up on a tent. He stopped Rick and pointed, then Rick motioned for everyone to get down, so they all obeyed. "She could be in there," Daryl whispered. "There could be a whole bunch o' things in there." "Let's hope it's wha' we're lookin' for," Rylee whispered back. Daryl raised his crossbow and made his way over to the tent slowly as Rick and Shane followed. Everyone else stayed put and watched. Daryl stopped then pulled his knife out, lowering the crossbow and creeping towards the tent. He leaned down, looking in the tent, careful to not make a noise. He stayed in a sort of fighting stance, but after looking, he turned to Rick and threw his hands up. "Carol," Rick quietly called and motioned her over. She walked over and Rick instructed her to call out softly to Sophia. "Sophia. Sweetie. Are you in there?" No response. Daryl was knelt down, ready to strike in case something other than Sophia lunged out of that tent. "Sophia, it's mommy." Again. Nothing. "Sophia? We're all here, baby." Daryl reached down and slowly unzipped the tent. There was an extreme amount of tension as he did so. He pulled the tent open, then turned his head away, coughing and covering his nose. After he stepped in, Rick took a peek, but the stench seemed to hit him like a brick wall. "Daryl?" Carol called and he didn't respond. "Daryl?" He stepped out after a few moments. "It ain't her." "What's in there?" someone asked. "Some guy. They were generous enough ta…opt it out. Ain't that wha' ya call it?" he asked as he slung his crossbow over his shoulder.

Everyone suddenly heard what sounded like a large bell. They all looked around. "It's comin' from tha' direction," Rylee said and they all ran towards it. "What direction?" Shane asked. "It's comin' from that way. I'm pretty sure," Rick answered. "Damn, it's hard to tell out here." They all eventually came up on a white church house, with a small graveyard. "That can't be it. There's no steeple, no bells," Shane noted. Rick ignored him and went to check it out anyway. Dean and Rylee stood outside as the others went in, but as soon as they opened the doors, they heard growling from the inside. There was a lot of shuffling around, but once it got quit, Dean called, "Everyone okay in there?" "Yeah," Rick called back. There was another silent moment, but then the bells sounded again. "Where tha fuck is tha' comin' from?" Rylee groaned. Daryl was the first to rush out, followed by the others. They ran to the side of the building and noticed a speaker hanging off the side of the wall. "Turn tha' damn thing off," Rylee shouted over the noise and Glenn rushed over and did so. Daryl pointed up with his blade. "Timer. It's on a timer." "Yeah, ain't tha' obvious," Rylee growled. "Aye, you watch tha' attitude, princess," Daryl snapped back. Rylee glared at him. "Wha' I need ta be doin' is watchin' my ass 'cause every deadly in those woods is gonna come here now." Daryl shot a glare back. "Well, all tha' damn hollerin' ain't helpin' us neither." She stepped up to him. "Y'know wha'? You can shove it! I didn't ask for this ta happen. I didn't ask ta be here." "Why don't you jus' shut tha hell up? Ain't nobody ask for ya ta be here, so why are ya?" Her face scrunched up. "Don't think jus' because I'm a girl don't mean I won't smack you straight up stupid!" That's when Rick stepped between them. "Alright! That's enough. This is not the time for arguing. Sophia is missing. We can settle this ridiculousness later, but for now we need to work together to find her." "Yeah, we'll settle 'is later," Daryl snapped. "I look forward to it," she snapped back to him then stormed off in the other direction but Dean followed and grabbed her by the arm. "What tha hell was that?" he asked harshly. Rylee folded her arms. "Do I not make a valid point? If we could hear tha' shit from all tha way over there, then there's no tellin' how many deadlies are on their way here right now." Dean gave a frustrated sigh. "Look, jus' calm down. These people know what they're doin'." And with that, Dean walked away, but Rylee looked over to see Daryl still giving her a death glare. She shot him a bird and he hollered before stepping into the church, "Sit on it n' spin, sweetheart." "Goddamnit," she cursed under her breath.

While Rylee stood outside, Dean went up the steps to the church and went inside. Everyone was silent except for Carol. "Father, forgive me," she said in a soft voice. "I don't deserve your mercy. I've prayed for safe passage from Atlanta and you provided. I prayed for Ed to be punished, for laying his hands on me, and for looking at his own daughter, whatever sickness was growing in his soul. I prayed you'd put a stop to it. Give me a chance to raise her right, help her not make my mistakes." Her voice cracked and Dean felt the pain in her voice. "She's so fearful," Carol whispered. "She's so young in her way. She hasn't had a chance." She looked up to the statue of Jesus Christ hanging on the cross and Dean turned and walked out. Everyone standing near the door seemed to notice. Praying to the man upstairs was a sort of personal thing and it didn't feel right to him to listen. Rylee looked up when he stepped out, still angry from moments earlier. "We gotta find tha' little girl. And soon," Dean said. "I agree. We need ta get a move on." Dean looked down at the grass and just started walking. Rylee followed and could tell something was bothering him. "What're they doin' in there?" she asked. Dean sighed. "What do people always do when they're in church?" Rylee didn't answer, instead said, "I need ta get in there n' pray for some patience and tolerance with tha' asshole." Dean laughed a little. "Yeah, that'd be a good idea."

It was a while before everyone stepped back outside. Shane walked up to the group and cleared his throat. "Ya'll gotta follow tha creek bed back. Okay Daryl, you're in charge." "Oh, great," Rylee mumbled, earning an elbow to the rib from Dean. "Me and Rick are just gonna hang back, search this area for another hour or so just to be thorough." "Splitin' us up?" Daryl asked. "Ya sure?" Shane sighed. "Yeah, we'll catch up to you." "I'm staying here," Rylee whispered to Dean. "No, yer not. Go on with Daryl, get some rest when ya get there. I'll stay." She grunted and rolled her eyes. "I wanna stay too," Carl said. "I'm her friend." Rick and Shane exchanged looks and there was a moment of hesitation before Lori stepped up and said, "Let's be careful, okay?" Her son nodded. "I will." And with that everyone else headed back to the highway.


	5. Beat the Bush

Everyone made their way through the woods, following Daryl. No one was saying a word. Everyone was just so focused on their surroundings, trying to find some sort of lead on Sophia. "So this is it?" Carol asked as she sat down on a log. "This is the whole plan?" Daryl mumbled something, but Rylee couldn't quite understand what he said. "Carrying knives and pointy sticks," Andrea said. Then she turned to Lori. "I see you and Rylee have a gun. We don't even know her and her boyfriend and Rick let them keep theirs?" "What, you want my gun?" Lori asked her in a different tone than usual. "Here. Take it." She held it out to her and waited for her to take it from her hand. "I'm sick of the looks you're givin' me and Rylee." Andrea gave her a rather surprised look, but took the gun from her after a second of hesitation. Lori then sat down on the same log Carol was sitting on. Rylee just stood there, waiting for someone to say something or for Daryl to tell them to keep going. But then Lori's voice broke the silence. "Honey," she said to Carol, "I can't imagine what you're going through and I would do anything to stop it, but you have got to stop blaming Rick. It is in your face every time you look at him." Carol didn't say anything, just listened to her. "And when Sophia ran, he didn't hesitate, did he? Not for a second. I don't know that any of us would've gone after her the way he did. Or made the hard decisions he had to make. Or that anybody could've done it any differently." Carol just put her head down and Lori looked around at everyone. "Anybody?" No one said a word. She looked down. "Ya'll look to him, then blame him when he's not perfect. You think you can do this without him, go right ahead. Nobody is stoppin' you." And with that, she took a large sip of water from her bottle. Lori looked up when someone reached out to her. It was Andrea, passing Lori's gun back. "We should keep moving." Lori stood, slinging her bag over her shoulder and the others began to follow her lead. Rylee was the second to last person in the line, followed by Daryl. She didn't feel comfortable for some reason. She felt like he was staring at her. But she pushed the thought to the back of her mind…that is until he made a remark. "Y'know, it'd be nice if ya wouldn't sway yer hips like 'at." She stopped dead in her tracks then turned around. "Excuse me?" She couldn't believe he said that. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment. Everyone else stopped also. "I think ya heard me righ'." After shooting him a glare for the hundredth time today, she sneered, "Go to hell." She could hear Daryl chuckle behind her as she stormed off to the front of the line and everyone began moving again.

They walked through the woods for a good bit longer. Rylee thought they were never going to make it to the highway. But she didn't really care. She was still embarrassed by Daryl's little remark he made. She didn't realize she walked like that, or maybe Daryl embarrassed her on purpose. But then, there was a loud noise that made her jump slightly. It was a gunshot and worry suddenly struck through her. They ignored it at first, but then Lori stopped and turned around. Andrea turned around also, asking Lori, "You still worring about it?" "That was a gunshot," Lori responded. "We all heard it," Daryl said, causing Rylee to glare at him. "Well, I didn't think any of us were def." He didn't reply, just gave her a harsh look. Lori looked back to them. "Why one? Why just one gun shot?" Rylee was asking herself that question. "Maybe they took down a walker," Daryl suggested. Rylee despised this man more and more with every word that came out of his mouth, but she didn't say anything to him. "Please don't patronize me. You know Rick wouldn't risk a gunshot to put down one walker. Or Shane. They do it quietly." "Or Dean," Rylee added. "Shouldn't they have caught up with us by now?" Carol asked the others. Daryl sighed. "There's nothin' we can do about it anyway. Can't run around these woods chasin' echoes." Seriously? That was Lori's son and husband out there. And Dean, along with Shane. And Daryl wanted to just brush it off? "So what do we do?" Lori asked him. "Same as we been. Beat the bush for Sophia then work our way back ta tha highway." "No way. What if somethin' happened?" Rylee snapped at Daryl. He turned to her with a raised eyebrow. "We can't do anything righ' now." "But Dean's out there," she said, raising her voice. "Well, I'll tell ya what," he said. "If yer so worried 'bout yer little boyfriend, why don't ya jus' go after 'im then?" She let out a frustrated sigh and gritted her teeth. He was really working her patience. But without saying a word, she followed his lead, as did the others.

But every one stopped again as Andrea said something to Carol. "Sorry for what you're going through. I know how you feel." Carol shrugged. "I suppose you do. Thank you." She then turned to Daryl. "The thought of her…out here…by herself." She then looked back to Andrea. "It's the not knowing that's killing me. I just keep hopin' and prayin' she doesn't end up like Amy." But then her eyes widened at the realization of what she had just said. "Oh god. That's the worst thing I've ever said." Andrea shook her head. "We're all hoping and praying with you. For what it's worth." They smiled at each other, but the dumbass himself just had to speak up. "I'll tell ya wha' it's worth: not a damn thing. It's a waste of time, all this hopin' n' prayin'." Rylee gritted her teeth. He had to be joking. "We're gonna locate that little girl, she's gonna be jus' fine." Rylee was surprised. That definitely didn't go as expected. "Am I the only one zen around here? Good lord." She may not have particularly gotten along with Daryl this entire time, but she couldn't help but to admire what he had just done. She realized he really wasn't like what she thought. He really truly did think they were going to find Sophia. She smiled at Carol, earning a smile back and everyone continued moving.

* * *

Dean sat there with Rick and Shane as Hershel operated on Carl. "Why did I let him come with us?" Rick asked Shane. Dean tried to think of something…anything to say that would make Rick feel just a little bit better. But unfortunately, he was at a loss for words. "I should've sent him with Lori." "You know, you start that, and you'll never get that monkey off your back," Shane said. Dean decided that the two needed to be left alone and stood up. "I'm gonna…step out here. Get some air." Neither one of them responded. "Let me know if there's anythin' I can do." Shane nodded and Dean headed out. He sat out on the porch steps and sat his bag on the ground. He unzipped the front pouch, then grabbed a pack of cigarettes. He stuck one in his mouth, lit it, and took a long drag off of it. It sure made him feel a lot better. There was just so much going on: Sophia was missing, Rylee and Daryl were at each other's necks, and now Rick's son has been shot. It seemed like he was a bad luck charm. Or maybe him and Rylee both. He didn't know. All he knew was that they showed up and a bad storm hit this group. After taking another hit off of his cigarette, he wondered if they might have blamed them for this. No. They couldn't. None of this was their fault, so even if any of them did, they didn't have a logical reason. Dean still felt guilty though for some reason. He stared at the tree line across the field, waiting for Rylee and the others to come running through when suddenly he heard someone call for Rick, causing him to worry if something was wrong. He quickly put out his cigarette, set it down on the edge of the step, then rushed inside. He could hear Carl's cries from the other room and didn't dare walk in there. "He needs blood," someone said, and Dean could tell it was a female voice. "You. Hold him down," he could hear Hershel say. But then Carl's cries turned into screams. Dean immediately regretted his decision to come inside. He found it difficult to listen to. "Stop, you're killing him!" Rick screamed. "Rick," Hershel shouted, "do you want him to live?" "He needs blood," the female voice said again. But then suddenly, it went quiet in the other room. "He just passed out," Hershel said and Dean sighed to himself in relief. There was a silent second, then Hershel's voice filled the room again. "One down…five to go."

Later on, when they were finished, Rick continued to give blood for Carl. Shane stood on the other side of the room and Dean stood in the doorway. Hershel promptly took Carl's blood pressure. "Pressure's stable," he said as he placed the stethoscope around his neck. "Lori needs to be here. She doesn't even know what's goin' on. I gotta go find her, bring her back." Hershel turned to him. "You can't do that," he informed Rick. "She's his mother," he seethed. "She needs to know what happened. Her son's lyin' her shot." "And he's going to need more blood." He looked over at Shane. "He can't go more than fifty feet from this bed." Shane nodded. Rick stood, then wobbled a little. "Take it easy, Rick," Dean said softly. "I'm okay," he replied. "I'm alright. I got it." Dean stepped aside and let Rick through the doorway. They went into the living room where Otis, the one who accidentally shot Carl, and Maggie, Hershel's daughter, sat. "He's stable for now," Shane informed Otis. "Lori has to be here, Shane. She has to know." "Okay," Shane responded. "I get that. And we're gonna handle it. But you gotta handle your end." Rick seemed confused. "My end?" "Your end is bein' here, for your son. Even if he didn't need your blood to survive, there's no way I'd let you walk out that door, man. I…I'd break your legs if you tried. I mean, you know that, right?" Rick looked down. "Figure something happened to him and you weren't here…If he slipped away while you were gone, you would never forgive yourself for that. And neither would Lori, man." Rick looked back up. "You're right." "When am I ever wrong?" Shane asked with a smirk. "Carl needs you," Dean said. Rick looked at him for a brief moment, then just nodded.

* * *

Everyone still followed behind Daryl through the woods. "We'll lose the ligh' 'fore too long," he informed everyone. "Let's head back," Carol said then looked at Lori. "We'll pick it up again tomorrow?" "We'll find her tomorrow," Lori answered with a nod. Daryl whistled, motioning for everyone to follow him and they did so. They came up on some tall grass, forcing them to take large steps to make their way through. "How much farther?" Andrea asked. "Not much," Daryl answered. "Maybe a hundred yards. As a crow flies." "Too bad we aren't crows," she said. Everyone was worn out and tired. They all needed a break. But Daryl was persistent on getting back to the highway. Rylee raised an eyebrow when she heard something strange. It didn't sound like an animal. And it sure as hell didn't sound like one of them. It sounded like…She turned just in time to see Andrea stumble backwards. Everyone turned and looked around, hearing her scream but not seeing her anywhere. They followed her cries for help. Carol, Glenn, Daryl, Lori, and Rylee all ran as fast as they could. Andrea was now on the ground and the walker was grabbing onto her feet as she kicked at it. But someone else had gotten there before them. Out of nowhere, a horse galloped straight to Andrea. It bolted by the walker, and it was sent to the ground. "Who tha hell is that?" Rylee asked surprised. It was a female with short brunette hair. She looked down to Andrea. "Lori? Lori Grimes?" "I'm Lori," Lori called out. "Rick sent me. You gotta come now." "What?" Lori asked, slightly panicked. "There's been an accident. Carl's been shot." The expression on Lori's face changed to pure terror. "He's still alive, but you've gotta come now." She didn't move. "Rick needs you. Just come!" the girl on the horse demanded. Lori started to take her backpack off, but Daryl intervened. "Woah, woah, woah. We don't know this girl!" he said as he pointed a finger at her. "You can't get on tha' horse!" "Rick said you had others on the highway?" She then proceeded to give them directions to where she was taking Lori. And with that, they rode off into the woods.

They heard growling again, and the walker that attacked Andrea sat up. Daryl lifted his crossbow. "Shut up," he snarled as he sent an arrow through it's head. "Damnit, Daryl! I told you, didn't I? I knew somethin' was wrong," Rylee said to him. He made his way over to the walker and pulled his arrow out of it's head. Then he pointed it at Rylee. "Y'know, I'm gettin' real sick o' yer smart ass mouth. Keep on and I migh' jus' finish the job like I shoulda done on tha highway." Rylee let out a defeated sigh. Fighting with Daryl was already getting old. "Okay," she said quietly. "Wha'?" he asked, obviously surprised by her reply. "I said okay." He stared at her for a moment, looking a little confused. But then he nodded his head. "Alrigh'."

They eventually made their way back to the highway and rested. After dark, Daryl and Andrea had gone on a walk to see if they could find Sophia and Rylee settled herself in a car and had gone to sleep.

 _It was dark. The walls of the narrow hallway seemed almost to be collapsing on top of her. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't think. It was all happening too fast. They were coming at her from both ends of the passageway and their growling kept getting louder and louder. She was out of ammo and didn't have anything to defend herself with. Sweat rolled down her face and her chest heaved. This just might be it: the end of her. All of her fears would be confirmed. She would lose everything she had so desperately tried to keep in a world like this. Their growling suddenly sounded far off, like she was off in a different place, but they were still coming at her. Her heart felt like it was in her throat and she could hear it her ears. It was the loudest sound she could hear. The feeling of cold, dead fingers on her arm sent her stumbling and her back hit the wall behind her. There was nothing she could do. It was all going to end. Right here. They were all around her by this point. Their empty, gray eyes, matching the color of rain clouds, stared right back into her soul. She tried to fight them off, but a sharp pain shot up her left arm. She screamed out, but it made no noise. Her legs seemed to have fell out from underneath her and she sunk to the gorund. "Rylee! Get up," a voice called. It was a familiar voice, but she couldn't remember who it was. "Aye! Get tha hell up!" She felt like she was being shaken._

Rylee grabbed her knife and held it up against someone's throat and her eye shot open. "Woah! Tha hell's wrong with you?!" It was Daryl. She slowly lowered the blade, trying to catch her breath and wiped the sweat from her forehead. "Sorry," she breathed out. He looked at her curiously. "Have a bad dream or somethin'?" he asked. Rylee sighed. "Yeah." Daryl then smirked at her. "I wouldn't tryna kill ya, was I?" She scoffed. "I'm not scared of you." He chuckled, then got up out of the car. "Come on. We're leavin'."

After he walked away, she was still shaken up. She slid her knife into her backpack she had sitting in the floor board then raised up with a grunt. The back seat to that car wasn't comfortable at all and left her with an aching back. She climbed out of the car, then slung the bag over her shoulders. "Good morning, sunshine," Dale called as she approached the RV. "Mornin'. RV's ready to go I'm assumin'." "She sure is," he responded. "Good. Let's get to that farm. If Rick's there, chances are Dean is too." Rylee went on passed the RV and passed Daryl heading towards Dean's four-wheeler. After pulling the keys out of her pocket, she sat down and turned on the engine. She pulled it off to the side, allowing Daryl and Dale to get passed her. "Ya'll lead the way," she said.


	6. Alive and Breathin'

They all turned onto a dirt road that led past some pastures. They kept going until they saw a white farm house. Guess that's it, Rylee thought to herself. And it was. They all pulled into the front yard and parked their vehicles, turning them off. As soon as they did, Rick and Lori came out of the house and onto the porch, followed by T-Dog, Dean, and an older man with snow white hair. "Good to see you're alive and breathin'," Rylee called out to him. "Yeah. Same for you," he said, but he didn't make direct eye contact. They all stepped off the porch and Rick walked over. "How is he?" Dale asked. "He'll pull through," Lori said with a smile. "Thanks to Hershel and…and his people and…" "And Shane, Dean," Rick finished. "It would've been a lost cause if not for them." "I'm happy to hear that," Rylee said. Dale stepped forward and pulled Rick into a hug. Carol also stepped up and hugged Lori. Rylee looked up as she saw Dean approaching. Usually he'd be happy to see Rylee was okay, but something seemed to be bothering him. "I, uh..." Dean started, but trailed off. Rylee raised an eyebrow at him. "You alright?" she asked him. He rubbed the back of his neck, something he did when he was nervous and glanced at Shane for a brief second, who was staring him down, then quickly looked away. "Uh, yeah. Im alrigh'."

"How'd it happen?" Dale asked Rick. "Hunting accident," he answered. "That's all. Just a stupid accident." Rylee looked over at Shane, who seemed a little also uneasy, but she ignored it.

After a few moments of greeting and talking amongst one another, they all met under a tree for Otis's funeral, which was the one who had accidentally shot Carl. He had gone to get the supplies to operate on Carl with Shane and Dean, but didn't make it. They all stood around the rock pile they had made for him under the shade of the tree. Hershel, who stood off to the side, read his bible. Rylee didn't pay much attention, though. She was never strong in faith, and often grew annoyed when someone talked about the man upstairs. But this was a funeral service. She had a little more respect than to roll her eyes as Hershel read. But she couldn't help but to think about all this. It was strange holding a funeral for someone. So many people have died that she knew that went without one. She didn't really think people did things like this anymore. She looked over at Shane again, who still seemed uneasy. It must have been because he was the last person with him. Maybe he blamed himself for not saving Otis. But then again, Dean was acting weird too.

"Dean, will you speak for us today?" Hershel asked when he looked up from his bible. Dean looked a little surprised, then cleared his throat. "Uh, yeah...yeah, I can do that..." He looked around at everyone, stopping at Shane for a few seconds, then his eyes went back t wondering around. "Otis...Otis was a hero. Sure, he made a mistake, but, uh...he...he made up for it. He was determined. He wouldn't leavin' without gettin' wha' we needed. Otis put 'is life on tha line for Carl, for me..." Dean paused and hesitated before finishing. "...and for Shane. Otis saved us. May he rest in peace." "Thank you," Hershel said, earning a nod from Dean.

"Shane," Hershel then said. He looked over, responding to him, but he seemed a little distracted, like he was thinking of something. "Will you speak for Otis?" He and Dean exchanged looks, then he turned back. "Not good at it," he mumbled. "I'm sorry." "You were on of the last one's with him," Otis's wife, Patricia, told him with a crackly voice. "You shared his final moments. Please…I need to hear. I need to know his death had meaning." He looked down and swallowed. Rylee glanced over at Dean, who was just looking at the ground. "We were about done," Shane finally said. "I wish I had the ammo. We were down to pistols by then. Dean'd got separated from us. We thought he was gone. I was limpin'…it was bad…ankle all swollen up…'We gotta save the boy'…that's what he said…" It seemed like he was trying to avoid eye contact with Patricia. Something also seemed a little off, like he wasn't telling everything.

"He gave me his backpack, he shoved me ahead…'Run,' he said. He said, 'I'll take the rear, I'll cover you.' And when I looked back…" He didn't finish, just trailed off. He then turned and limped over to the wheel barrel next to the pile of rocks and grabbed one out. "If not for Otis, we'da never made it out alive. And that goes for Carl, too." He looked down briefly. "He saved all three of us." Dean was now looking at Shane strangely as he spoke. He must have noticed the same thing Rylee did. But once he was done, he placed the rock onto Otis's grave and stepped away.

After Otis's service, the 'search party' surrounded the hood of a car. "How long has this little girl been lost?" Hershel asked. "This'll be day three," Rick answered. Maggie carried something over and spread it out over the hood of the car. "County Survey Map. Shows terrain and elevations." "This is perfect," Rick said. "We can finally get this thing organized. We'll grid the whole area, start searching in teams." "Not you, not today," Hershel interrupted. "You gave three units of blood. You wouldn't be hiking five minutes in this heat before passing out." He then turned to Shane. "And your ankle, push it now and you'll be laid up a month. No good to anybody." "Guess it's jus' me," Daryl said then pointed to the map. "I'ma head back ta tha creek, work my way from there." "I could still be useful," Shane said. "I could drive up the interstate, see if Sophia wondered back." Dean patted Rylee on the shoulder. "We're gonna look too. Since Daryl's headed back to tha creek, we'll look around near tha' church and see if we at least get a lead on 'er." Rick nodded. "Alright, tomorrow then," he said, looking around at everyone. "We'll start doing this right." "That means we can't have our people out there with just knives," Shane told him. They stood there and talked amongst themselves before parting ways. Dean and Rylee walked beside Rick, who then stopped and turned to them. "Ya'll don't think you could go with Daryl, do you?" They looked at each other, then Dean turned back to Rick. "I don't think that's a good idea. I can't go with 'im, 'cause I can't leave Rylee alone. I can't send her with 'im 'cause one of 'em will probably kill the other. It might be best this way, so we can cover more ground. Daryl seems ta take care of himself pretty well. I'm sure he'll be fine on 'is own." Rick just looked down for a brief moment, then back up to them. "Alright. Just do me a favor and keep your eyes and ears open in case something happens." "Can do," Dean said, then the two turned and headed for the small church.

The trip through the woods was silent until Rylee and Dean made it to the church. "Dean, she ain't been here," Rylee mumbled. He made his way over to the graveyard, but without looking a her, he said, "Couldn't hurt ta double check." She sighed in response, following him past the tombstones. Since they were alone, she figured now was the best time to ask him what was going on. "What's up with you n' Shane? Y'all are actin' weird." Dean was silent for a second, but finally answered. "Well Rylee, we saw a guy get torn ta pieces. Kinda somethin' ya don't wanna see." He stopped and scratched his head, his eyes moving around the ground, observing everything in sight. "Shane said y'all got seperated," she responded. A sigh escaped from Dean, then he turned and faced Rylee, not looking in her eyes. "Yeah. We got seperated." "How?" she asked. He turned back around and started moving forward again. "Rylee, not now," he said. "Why not?"

Dean stopped and quickly turned back around. "They were in tha trailer gettin' stuff, alrigh'? We had some flares. Shane tossed 'em on out there ta draw tha dealies away, but there was a few of 'em tha' still came towards us. I got out n' lead 'em away. Shane n' Otis took off, but I guess they couldn't see me no more n' thought I was dead. I don't know, but I was watchin' 'em. They were runnin' and..." He trailed off as the image of Otis collapsing onto the ground flashed in his mind. "And Otis...Otis tripped..." He then met eyes with Rylee. "And they got 'im..." However, she didn't seem convinced. There was a suspicious look on her face as she listens to Dean. "You n' Shane act like y'all know more than yer tellin'," she told him. He ran his fingers through his hair. "Look, I jus' wanna forget it. And I'm sure Shane does, too." Rylee sighed and placed her hands on her hips. She wasn't going to push it anymore. If Dean was gonna talk, he would've done it. "Alrigh'. I'm sorry," she said low. He turned and started walking away from her. "Come on. Let's keep lookin'," he called over his shoulder.

They looked for a few hours, then headed back to the farm. They made their way over to the four-wheeler and Dean started going through a bag he had sitting. "We should set up camp in one of these fields. I don't want 'em thinkin' we're tryna take over." "Well, I mean, you were there for Rick when his kid was shot and we're helpin' 'em look for Sophia. I'm sure they trust us." "Still," Dean responded. "Some of 'em migh' not be comfortable with us bein' so close." He quickly grabbed up what he was looking for and walked off without saying another word.

Once it got late, Rylee grabbaed her bow and decided to go in and check on Rick's son. She stepped inside to see Rick sitting next to the bed and him and Carl both looked up. "How ya feelin', little man?" "I'm okay," he said quietly with a smile. Rylee gave a smile right back. "Yer a tough kid. Firs' time I got shot, I didn't do nothin' but sit there n' complain tha whole time." They both laughed, but Rylee looked over to see Rick's eyes on her. "I was jus' out n' about," she told him. "Felt like I should jus' check in n' see how he's doin'. " "Did you find Sophia?" Carl asked weakly. Rylee frowned. "No…we didn't find 'er. We tried, but…" Her voice tailed off. "I think you will," Carl said. Rylee looked down then over to him. "We're gonna try our best, I promise you tha'. I'm gonna do everythin' in my power ta bring yer friend back." Another smile grew across Carl's face but Rick's voice filled the room. "Thank you," he said. "Nah, thank Dean," she replied as she leaned up against the doorway. "He's tha one pushin' us so hard. He kinda feels responsible for Sophia goin' missin'. I don't know wha' kinda logic he used to get to tha' conculsion." Rylee looked down and twiddled her thumbs. "We were there…when the dealies…er, walkers, came by. We watched it. I guess we were too scared to come out after they left 'cause, y'know…can't really trust everyone these days. Guess he blames himself 'cause he didn't do anything. Hell, I didn't do much either." Rick hesitated before saying, "It wasn't on either of you. Or any of us." Rylee just nodded. "Guess so," she said then turned back to Carl. "You get ta feelin' better, alrigh'? I'll see ya'll in the mornin'." "Goodnight," Carl said. "Night, little man."

She exited the house then stopped to take a deep breath of fresh air. It was nice at this farm. Rylee hasn't been in peace like this since the turn. The people here were just completely shut off from the outside world. She wouldn't mind living here at all, but she wasn't sure if that was going to happen. When Rylee looked up, she saw a fire off in the distance way off in the field. It was over at Daryl's camp. He had separated himself from the others and made his camp way up on the hill. She sighed to herself, then headed to the pasture and made her way over there.

Daryl was sitting next his fire just staring into it when Rylee walked up. "Ah, wha' tha hell do you want?" he asked once he noticed her approaching. She stopped and looked down with a sigh. "Look, I know we got off on a rough start. I have no idea if Rick is gonna make me n' Dean part of yer group now, but if he does-" "He won't," Daryl said, cutting her off. "Once we don't need ya anymore, we'll send ya packin'. Hell, we don't need ya righ' now." "And here I am still standin' here," she replied. He looked back into the fire. "What're ya here for anyway?" Rylee looked around at the dark tree line that was engulfed by blackness. The firelight spread light on the bark of the trees, but shadow still overcame it. It felt almost as if she were staring into the entrance of a deep, dark tomb. But she then said to Daryl, "Plannin' on goin' huntin'. Dean's asleep and none of the others don't have any experience tha' I know of. I thought it'd be best if somebody went with me in case I see tha girl, so she ain't scared of me. I imagine you'd be one of tha firs' one's she'd run to." Daryl didn't reply and she put a hand on her hip. "You comin' or what?" she asked. "Go hunt yer damn self," he answered. "Alright," she said. "Piss on you then." She turned to walk off, but then he called out to her. "Aye." Rylee turned and faced him. He seemed to have hesitated a moment, then reached over and picked up his crossbow and stood up off of the ground. He met eyes with Rylee, who just stood there. "Well, ya can't go wonderin' off by yourself. And lookin' for Sophia ain't a bad idea. Ain't got nothin' else ta do."

Daryl followed Rylee into the woods and they quietly moved forward. "So…who taught ya how ta hunt?" Rylee asked and Daryl gave her a strange look. "Well, if we're gonna be out here, migh' as well try ta make conversation." He rolled his eyes at her. "Fine. We don't have to talk," she said. "Where tha hell did you two come from anyway?" Daryl asked. Rylee sighed. "Outside of Atlanta. We got run off by deadlies. There was an explosion in the city that lured 'em to our camp. There were two more of us, but they stayed back." They moved forward a little bit more before Daryl asked, "Why'd they stay?" "Man's wife was bit. She was turnin' and he chose to stay with her." He scoffed and looked the other way. "I told Dean we shoulda killed her, but 'er husband wouldn't have that. Dean didn't really wanna have to do it either." Rylee then looked down thinking about Jameson and Samantha. "Well, I'll tell ya somethin'," Daryl said. "That little boyfriend 'o yer's needs ta grow a set if he wants ta survive in this world." "Eh, he ain't my boyfriend. He's more like a partner. Jus' somebody who's tryna look after me." Daryl shook his head and the two maneuvered through the trees. "Is that so?" he asked sarcastically. "Yeah," Rylee answered harshly. Daryl's eyes stayed on the ground. He looked for a moment, then said something without looking up. "Tha' explosion in Atlanta, tha' was tha C.D.C.." Rylee stopped and looked up. "How do you know that?" she asked. "I was there," Daryl answered. "Place jus' blew up. Damn scientist at tha place tried to lock us in and kill us all. Tha' conversation 'tween Dale and Andrea? She wanted ta stay once tha doors got open. Dale tried ta stop 'er but…well, ya heard 'em talkin'." "Wait, there was a scientist there?" Rylee asked in shock. "Did he know anything? Y'know, about the Turn? How it was caused? Anything?" There was a silent moment bfore Daryl answered quietly. "No…he didn't know nothin'." Rylee just looked down, slightly disappointed. She couldn't help back to get her hopes up.

It wasn't long before they somehow made it to the creek. They both looked around, trying to find anymore tracks, but found nothing. "She's gotta be 'round here somewhere. She wouldn't jus' wonder off somewhere else…would she?" Rylee asked Daryl. He shook his head. "Nah. I don't think so." He then sighed and got off the ground. "I've searched this damn creek too many times. She ain't here." "So, what now?" Rylee asked. He looked down for a brief moment. "Let's call it a nigh'. Head back to tha farm." She nodded in agreement. "Lead tha way," she said and they made their way back.


	7. Robin Hood

It was sometime mid-day when Rylee woke up. She stretched out and yawned then rubbed her eyes. After laying there a moment, she heard movement outside her tent, so she raised up and unzipped the flap. Once it dropped down, she saw Dean sitting there, going through his bag. "It's 'bout damn time ya got up," he said as he glanced over. "You ain't never slept tha' long. Was 'bout to come in there n' check on ya." Rylee's eyes squinted at the sunlight as she stepped out of her tent and sat next to Dean. It had been a while since she had a good night's worth of sleep. Rylee grew up with insomnia and since medicine was hard to come by these days due to the world ending, she was awake most of the time. Though, she was always tired. She couldn't ever seem to go to sleep or stay asleep for that matter. But even when she did get a chance to rest, she still woke up exhausted. Dean looked over at her, but she didn't say anything to him. "You alright?" he asked. She slightly nodded. "Yeah," she answered softly, but he didn't seem convinced. "Have another bad dream?" he asked her. "No," she said. She could still feel his eyes on her. "Somethin's wrong," he said. "Spit it out." "Don't matter," Rylee sighed. "And why do ya say that?" "Jus' don't," she mumbled. "Aye," he said as he nudged her shoulder. "Talk to me." She looked down at her nails, observing the built up dirt underneath them. She reached over and grabbed a pocket knife out of her tent, flipped it open, and ran the edge under the tip of her nail, scraping the dirt from underneath. "Don't make me beat it outta ya," Dean joked. Rylee stopped and her eyes went to the ground. "Do you…do you think tha' things will ever…y'know…go back to tha way they were?" She turned to him and waited for a response. But then his eyes went to the ground. "Ya want an honest answer?" he asked. She just waited. "No," he finally said. "I don't think they will." Rylee expected that answer. She didn't think so either. "Do ya think there's any hope?" she then asked him. There was a silent moment. "Maybe," he said quietly, almost a whisper. They sat there without saying anything else until Dean finally stood up. "Come on. We need ta head back ta tha house. They're gonna head out and start lookin' for Sophia again." Rylee grabbed his wrist before he could step away from her. "Wait." He looked down at her strangely. "Wha'?" "I told you wha' was botherin' me. Now what's botherin' you." Dean stared at her for a moment, trying to decide if he should tell her or not. The image of Otis collapsing and being hoarded by walkers crept into his mind. "I..." Then the image of Shane's glaring expression flashed in his mind. "Nothin'," he said finally. "Jus'...wish I coulda saved Otis...that's all..." She stood and dusted herself off. There was a sincerity in her eyes as she stared into his. "There wouldn't anything you coulda done." There's a lot I coulda done, he thought to himself, but he just nodded his head. "Guess yer righ'," he said.

Rylee grabbed her bag out of her tent, as did Dean, and they walked through the pasture, eventually making it to the house. They walked up just as Rick came walking through followed by Shane. Dean seemed to hesitate for a moment at the sight of him. "Morning, guys. Let's get goin'. Got a lot of ground to cover." Everyone followed the two and made their way over to the hood of the car where they spread the map out. "Alright, everyone's gettin' new search grids today," he announced. "She made it as far as the farm house Daryl found. She mighta gone farther East." "I'd like to help," a young man, who Rylee found out later was named Jimmy, said as he stepped up. Everyone turned to him. "I know the area pretty well and stuff." "Hershel's okay with this?" Rick asked him. "Yeah," the boy said. "Yeah, uh, he said I should ask you." Rick nodded. "Alright, then. Thanks." He turned and looked back to the map before Shane spoke up from inside the car. "Doubt what Daryl found screams 'Sophia' to me. Anyone coulda been held up in that farm house." "Anyone includes her, right?" Andrea said over her shoulder. "Whoever slept in that cupboard wouldn't no bigger than ye high," Daryl informed. Rylee noticed Dean looking over at Shane with a harsh expression. At first, it was as if he and Shane were just both shook up, but now it seemed like there was more to it. There was a tension between them, and it was giving off a negative vibe. "I don't see how it coulda been anybody else," he said, resulting in Shane looking over at him. "Really?" he asked in a tone that dared Dean to say another word. Rylee expected this to turn into a fight, but Rick clears his throat loudy, gaining their attention. "Maybe we'll pick up her trail again," he said. "Ain't no maybe 'bout it," Daryl replied. "I'mma borrow a horse, head ta this ridge righ' here, get a bird's eye view of tha whole grid. If she's up 'ere, I'll spot 'er." "Good idea," T-Dog told him. "Maybe you'll see that chupacabra up there, too." "Chupacabra?" Rick asked. Dale had made his way over and sat the bag of guns down on the hood of the car. "You never heard it?" he asked as he opened the bag. "First night in camp, Daryl tells us that the whole thing reminds him of the time he went squirrel hunting and he saw a chupacabra." He handed a gun to Rick as Rylee tried to hold back a laugh, but heard the young boy laugh for her. "Wha' are you brayin' at, jackass?" Daryl sneered at him and that's when Rylee let out a quiet laugh. "So you believe in the blood sucking dog?" Rick asked Daryl. "You believe dead people walking around?" he fired back. He just brushed it off and the boy reached for the gun sitting on the hood of the car. "Hey." Rick stopped him. "Ever fire one before?" "Well, if I'm going out, I want one." Rylee looked at Dean. She didn't exactly trust this kid with them out there. It's not that she thought he was going to hurt someone on purpose, she just didn't think he had enough experience. "Yeah," Daryl said as he threw his crossbow over his shoulder. "People in hell want slurpies." And with that, he walked off.

Once Daryl was gone, Rylee pointed down at the map. "I guess Dean n' I will look around near tha' farm house while Daryl's up on tha ridge, see if we find any tracks." Rick nodded. "Sounds like a good idea," he said. "Ya'll be careful out there. We appreciate the help, we really do." "Yeah. Y'all be careful," Shane told them in an almost sarcastic tone, his eyes looking off ahead of him. Dean seemed slightly uncomfortable, but responded with, "We will." It seemed almost like he was guarding Rylee without trying to make it obvious. She tapped on his arm and he turned to her. Her head nodded back in the direction of the farm house they planned to search. After glancing at Shane one last time, he turned and walked away with Rylee.

* * *

They made it to the woods after a while, looking around and staying alert. This wasn't Rylee and Dean's first time doing something like this. But whenn the two were living in the warehouse, Dean's mother had wondered off somewhere in the woods. He tried to go with her, but she insisted on going by herself to see if she could find any sort of food like berries or fruit. He had given her a gun, but it just wasn't enough. She was gone for what seemed like hours. Dean finally broke and went looking for her with Rylee but they didn't really find her…they found her corpse. A walking corpse. His mother had gotten bitten and had already turned by the time the two found her the next day. Dean never cried about it, but it was obvious that it took a toll on him. That's when he reached a dark period. He wouldn't eat, he wouldn't talk, or go out to hunt. Rylee did it instead after he had taught her how before his mother went missing. She had to force him to get something down, or else he probably would've starved to death. She took all the guns and blades with her when she left him alone, and always kept her eyes on him. Dean wouldn't do anything but just sit there with a blank, emotionless expression. It was bad enough he had lost his baby sister to deadlies, but then what was left of his family was gone. But Rylee understood. Her family was gone, too. She couldn't really blame him.

"What ya asked me earlier today," Dean said, breaking the silence that they had been in for a while. "Where did that come from?" "What do ya mean?" Rylee asked as she stopped. He then turned around and faced her. "What got ya thinkin' about that?" Her eyes went to the ground and Daryl's voice rang in her head. He didn't know nothin'. There was a moment of hesitation before she answered. "Jus' somethin' Daryl told me." Dean rolled his eyes and started walking again. "Oh boy, he didn't confess 'is love for ya, did he?" he asked sarcastically. Rylee gave an amused laugh and started forward also. "Yes," she answered. "We're runnin' away together. I hate ta break it to ya. I'm all his now." "I'm so incredibly jealous," Dean joked as he looked around a tree. But then he turned with a concerned look on his face. "Wait, you ain't serious are you?" Rylee laughed again. "Please. Daryl Dixon in love? Do the words 'Daryl' and 'love' even belong in the same sentence together?" Dean turned back the other way and continued looking. "Yeah, I think that question migh' be tha only sentence they do belong in. When did you two talk anyway? I thought ya'll hated each other." He glanced over his shoulder at her, but then knelt down in the grass and looked at the ground. "Went huntin' after you went to sleep. Well, we intended too." "Gave 'im a piece of ass?" he asked. "Damnit, Dean. Let me fuckin' finish." That earned a laugh from him. "Why are you so obsessed with me n' Daryl anyway?" "Well," he said as he stood up. "I just like to see romance blossom in a shit world like this." She raised an eyebrow at him. "Romance?" He shrugged with the stupid grin spread across his face that Rylee hated. She just shook her head. "We didn't hunt. It jus' turned into it bein' lookin' for the girl. But that explosion in Atlanta? He knew about it." This gained Dean's attention. "He was there, matter of fact." "He was there?" Dean asked. "Center of Disease Control. Place blew up. His group was there and they met a scientist." He took a couple steps towards her. "A scientist? Why didn't you say anythin' before? How tha hell did they even get there in tha firs' place?" Rylee shrugged. "I don't know." "Did they cause tha explosion?" he asked and Rylee could tell he was getting a little anxious. She looked away from him and around at the trees. "Don't think so." "So, that scientist, did they find out anythin' from 'im?" he asked her. "No," she responded. He was obviously confused at this point. "Well, why tha fuck not? They're gonna go to a guy at tha fuckin' C.D.C. and not bother to ask him-" "He didn't know anything," she interrupted and he just stopped and looked at her. "They asked, he didn't know." It got silent for a moment. The only sound audible was the chirping of the birds. But Dean turned back to the direction they were walking. "Not a damn thing?" he mumbled over his shoulder. "Not a damn thing," she replied.

They took a few more steps before Dean suddenly stopped and held out his arm in front of her. When she looked up, he pointed ahead. "Right there," he whispered. "By that bush righ' yonder." Rylee looked and saw what he was talking about. It was a rabbit. "Gimme your bow," he demanded in a barely audible voice. "I got it." She lifted her bow and arrow and aimed at the small creature. Suddenly, one of her arrows went straight through it and it fell over onto the ground. Dean stood straight up. "Nice shot, Robin Hood." He made his way over to the rabbit, picked it up, pulled the arrow out of it, and strapped it to his bag. After walking back to Rylee, he handed her the arrow. "Is it gonna bother you?" she asked him. "Nah," he responded. "Don't nothin' like that bother me these days."

There was suddenly a twig snapping somewhere in the woods near them. Dean quickly drew his pistol and aimed it, grabbing Rylee and shoving her behind him. His breath suddenly was heavy and uneven as he slowly looked from left to right. They stood there like that for a few moments until Rylee shoved him arm down. "Whatever it was, it's gone now," she said. Dean waited a moment before lowering his gun, but he still studied the trees around them. "Dean," Rylee said, causing him to snap out of it and glance at her with a strange look on his face. "We're alrigh'," she said to him. He turned back and looked for another moment then just nodded.

They had made it to the farm house, but didn't find anything. The two decided to head back to camp. Once they made it there, they started coming up to the RV but then heard Andrea calling, "Walker! Walker!" They both stopped and looked in the direction she was facing. "Just the one?" Rick asked as he approached. She grabbed a pair of binoculars and looked ahead, then turned to reach for her gun. "I bet I can nail it." "No, no! Andrea put the gun down!" Rick scolded. She lowered it and Shane called, "Andrea, you best let us handle this." "Don't you fire tha' gun," Dean demanded. "Shane, hold up," Rick called. "Hershel wants to deal with walkers." "Somethin's weird about that walker, Rick," Dean said to him. "I don't know wha' it is." "It's a damn walkin' corpse. Everything 'bout it's weird," Rylee said to him. They all made their way over and Dean turned to her. "Stay here."

Everyone rushed out into the field where it was coming out of the woods. They all stopped when they made it over and Rick aimed his pistol. The walker stopped and looked at them strangely. But then Dean realized it wasn't just an ordinary walker. "Is that Daryl?" Glenn asked and Dean took a few steps back. "Third time you pointed tha' thing at ma head," Daryl spat at Rick. They all lowered their weapons as soon as he spoke and Dean let out a sigh of relief. "Ya gonna pull tha trigger or what?" That's when Rick lowered his weapon. But suddenly, there was a gunshot and Daryl fell to the ground. "Shit, Andrea," Dean cursed to himself and they all bolted over to him. "No!" Rick shouted as he turned back. Rick and Shane then leaned down to aid Daryl when he reached up and felt his head. "I was kiddin'," Daryl said weakly as they pulled him up on his feet. He then passed out in Rick and Shane's arms and Dean turned to see Andrea, Rylee, and Dale rush over. "Oh my god," Andrea cried. "Oh my god, is he dead?" "You better fuckin' hope not," Rylee shouted at her from a little further behind. "Unconscious," Rick told him. "Look at him," Glenn said as he pointed to him. "What the hell happened, he-he's wearing ears!" That's when Rylee made her way over with a look of panic on her face. Dean rushed over to her and grabbed her. "He's alrigh', he's alrigh'." "Did he go bat shit crazy out there?" she breathed out. "He's wearin' a damn necklace made outta ears!" Rick then reached over and pulled it off of Daryl. "Let's keep that to ourself," he said as he shoved it into his shirt. "Guys," T-Bone called from behind. They all turned to see him holding up a doll. "Isn't this Sophia's?" he asked. After staring at the doll for a moment, Rick turned back around. "Come on," he said. "We gotta get him to Hershel."

Once they got him back to the house awake and alert, Rick, Shane, and Dean were in the room while Rick asked him about the doll. Hershel was patching him up. "I found it washed up on tha creek bed righ' there," he said as he pointed to the map Rick had spread out on the bed. "She must've dropped it crossin' there somewhere." He then placed the rag he was holding back onto his head wound where Andrea shot him. "That cuts the grid almost in half," Rick said, turning to Shane. "Yeah, you're welcome," Daryl said. "How's he lookin'?" Rick then turned and asked Hershel. "I had no idea we'd be goin' through the anti-biotics so quickly." He then finished and turned to rinse his hands. "Any idea what happened to my horse?" "The one tha' almost killed me?" Daryl asked. "If it was smart, it left the country." "We call that one Nelly," Hershel said as he dried his hands. "As in Nervous Nelly. I could've told ya she'd throw ya if you bothered to ask." He then walked up to Rick and looked him in the eyes. "It's a wonder you people have survived this long." "It's wonder why you always got them damn panties in a knot," Dean mumbled to himself. No one heard this remark except for Daryl who quietly chuckled. "I'm gonna go tell Rylee how he's doin'," he then said aloud. "Why's Rylee give a damn? Figured she's tha one who shot me." Dean laughed. "Actually, it was Andrea." Then he left the room and stepped out into the late afternoon air to find Rylee standing over by the RV looking down with a cigarette between her lips. He saw smoke shoot into the air in front of her and made his way over to her side. "He's alrigh'." Rylee just nodded and took another puff from her cigarette. But then she spoke up. "He awake?" "Yeah," Dean answered softly. "He took an arrow through him. Fell on it." Rylee smiled and shook her head. "So, he made it all tha way back here after hittin' his head, fallin' on an arrow, and gettin' shot, addin' another hit to tha head and he's fine? Damn. He's a badass, I'll give 'im that." Dean nodded. "Yeah, he's pretty tough." Rylee hit her cigarette again. "You ask him about tha doll?" "Yeah, Rick asked him. He found it by tha creek. He didn't find tha girl." "Thank God he didn't find 'er dead or somethin'," she sighed. "At least that narrows down the area, though." They both looked out over the same field that Daryl had walked out into, but then Dean looked over when Andrea approached. "Uh oh," Rylee mumbled, then turned to Dean. "Imma go somewhere else." And with that, she walked off, but Andrea had made her way over to Dean. She folded her arms and leaned up against the RV next to him. He didn't particularly like her presence. Dean never cared much for her kind, but he tried his best not to tell her to beat it. "I can't believe I shot him," she said. "I told ya not ta shoot," Dean replied with a sort of harsh tone. Andrea looked at him strangely. "I thought it was a walker, okay?" "Either way," Dean said. "Ya didn't do wha' you was told. We almost lost a life in tha process." She gave a defeated sigh and looked up at the clouds. "Rylee's probably mad at me to, isn't she?" "She ain't exactly mad. Jus' got a grudge against ya," Dean said. There was a moment, then he could feel Andrea looking at him. "You do too, don't you?" she asked.

He hesitated. He realized he was being childish and immature, but Andrea was childish and immature also. However, his mother always told him to not fight fire with fire, so he looked at her. "Nah," he said. "Jus' be more careful, alrigh'? We're a group. We work together. Start doin' wha' yer told." She nodded and Dean turned, heading off towards camp where Rylee went.


	8. Tick

Later that night after dark, Rylee left her camp and headed to the farmhouse. The door was still open, so she stepped in but made sure to be quiet. She headed up the stairs and into the hallway where Daryl's room was. It wasn't that late, but Rylee figured he'd be asleep by now. Making her way down the hallway, she looked for his room. Then she found it. Rylee slowly opened the door, trying not to make a sound in case he was asleep. And he was. After closing the door behind her, she then grabbed a chair, pulled it up next it his bed, and sat down. She studied Daryl laying there when she did. His breathing was slow and he looked so peaceful. It made her smile. Daryl never really looked peaceful and it just amused her to see him like that. But then he shifted in his sleep, almost like something disturbed him, but then he relaxed and went still again.

There was something about him that just drew Rylee to him. She didn't know what it was. He just seemed so…tortured. She just got that from him. He was a bottle of emotions just ready to burst. He was the kind of person who needed to be comforted, but didn't want it. She knew this because Dean had told her about his brother, Merle, who was left behind in Atlanta. Daryl was one of those people who hated showing their emotions or even talking about them. He seemed to be the type of person who is strong when no one else is. Rylee could see that. But perhaps he's too strong. Or maybe strong too much. There's probably never a moment when he stops and thinks, "It's okay." Rather thinks, "I'm okay," instead. He was overall just an interesting person and hard to figure out. And ever since Rylee met him she's been trying to do just that. But there are no windows in the walls Daryl Dixon puts around himself.

Daryl shifted in his sleep again. He must've been dreaming and it didn't seem like one of those dreams filled with rainbows and candy. His facial expression changed, scrunched up a little, so Rylee decided to try to soothe him. She began singing softly. It was a lullaby her mother used to sing her when she was young.

When it starts to rain

And when the thunder rolls

There is still a light behind the clouds

Even when the bad takes hold

There is still a lighthouse

Down by the ocean side

There is still an angel

Singing you goodnight

So don't fall

The daylight is soon to come

Don't fall down

Just wait for the morning sun

Look for me

I'm down by the ocean side

When you're lost

Just look for that light

His expression straightened out again and he didn't seem bothered anymore. She smiled seeing him at peace again. There was a silence that filled the room after she had stopped singing and the moonlight shone on Daryl through the window, giving his skin a silver tone. "Yer pushin' yourself so hard," she whispered to him. "Jus' to find that little girl. You nearly lost your life for her." He still laid there completely still. "That took guts." Then she looked down at the bandage on his exposed abdomen where he had the arrow through him. She laughed a little. "Pun unintended." She then looked back to his face. "I think, with your help, we're gonna find 'er. I'll admit, at firs', I was doubtful. When we all first met at tha highway, I just wanted to go. Didn't want no part of it. Hell, I have trouble jus' keepin' up with Dean. But then I realized I was bein' selfish. I thought about my momma…my sister…" Rylee looked down at the floor. "I remembered how important family was. You need to keep 'em around as long as you can, y'know?" She smiled to herself again. "If you's awake righ' now, you'd probably be cussin' me out and tellin' me ta quit wastin' yer time." Her eyes once again fell upon his face. "I heard about Merle, too. Dale told Dean about it, back when Sophia ran off and we went in tha RV. Yer probably doin' all this 'cause you know what it's like…not knowin'…I can't imagine wha' ya went through to look for yer brother." Still, Daryl didn't move, so she just sighed and got up. "Well, I'll leave you alone."

After giving him one last glance, she turned and walked out of his room, quietly closing the door behind her. Once she got into the hallway, her eyes locked with another pair. They belonged to Patricia, Otis's wife. Rylee just looked down and laughed nervously. "It, uh…It ain't what ya think…he's asleep." Patricia smiled. "Oh, don't worry yourself. I wasn't thinking anything like that." Rylee looked back up to her. "Just wanted to see if he was doin' okay." "He'll be okay. I promise you that." She smiled at Patricia once more. "I think I should get back to camp, try to get some sleep. I'll see ya in the mornin'." Patricia smiled back at her. "Goodnight, sweetie." "Night," Rylee replied then headed back down the hallway and out the door back to camp.

It had been a couple days. Rylee had gone out and searched for Sophia almost all night. But when she got back, she started a fire and just sat there. She just sat thLater that night after dark, Rylee left her camp and headed to the farmhouse. The door was still open, so she stepped in but made sure to be quiet. She headed up the stairs and into the hallway where Daryl's room was. It wasn't that late, but Rylee figured he'd be asleep by now. Making her way down the hallway, she looked for his room. Then she found it. Rylee slowly opened the door, trying not to make a sound in case he was asleep. And he was. After closing the door behind her, she then grabbed a chair, pulled it up next it his bed, and sat down. She studied Daryl laying there when she did. His breathing was slow and he looked so peaceful. It made her smile. Daryl never really looked peaceful and it just amused her to see him like that. But then he shifted in his sleep, almost like something disturbed him, but then he relaxed and went still again.

There was something about him that just drew Rylee to him. She didn't know what it was. He just seemed so…tortured. She just got that from him. He was a bottle of emotions just ready to burst. He was the kind of person who needed to be comforted, but didn't want it. She knew this because Dean had told her about his brother, Merle, who was left behind in Atlanta. Daryl was one of those people who hated showing their emotions or even talking about them. He seemed to be the type of person who is strong when no one else is. Rylee could see that. But perhaps he's too strong. Or maybe strong too much. There's probably never a moment when he stops and thinks, "It's okay." Rather thinks, "I'm okay," instead. He was overall just an interesting person and hard to figure out. And ever since Rylee met him she's been trying to do just that. But there are no windows in the walls Daryl Dixon puts around himself.

Daryl shifted in his sleep again. He must've been dreaming and it didn't seem like one of those dreams filled with rainbows and candy. His facial expression changed, scrunched up a little, so Rylee decided to try to soothe him. She began singing softly. It was a lullaby her mother used to sing her when she was young.

When it starts to rain

And when the thunder rolls

There is still a light behind the clouds

Even when the bad takes hold

There is still a lighthouse

Down by the ocean side

There is still an angel

Singing you goodnight

So don't fall

The daylight is soon to come

Don't fall down

Just wait for the morning sun

Look for me

I'm down by the ocean side

When you're lost

Just look for that light

His expression straightened out again and he didn't seem bothered anymore. She smiled seeing him at peace again. There was a silence that filled the room after she had stopped singing and the moonlight shone on Daryl through the window, giving his skin a silver tone. "Yer pushin' yourself so hard," she whispered to him. "Jus' to find that little girl. You nearly lost your life for her." He still laid there completely still. "That took guts." Then she looked down at the bandage on his exposed abdomen where he had the arrow through him. She laughed a little. "Pun unintended." She then looked back to his face. "I think, with your help, we're gonna find 'er. I'll admit, at firs', I was doubtful. When we all first met at tha highway, I just wanted to go. Didn't want no part of it. Hell, I have trouble jus' keepin' up with Dean. But then I realized I was bein' selfish. I thought about my momma…my sister…" Rylee looked down at the floor. "I remembered how important family was. You need to keep 'em around as long as you can, y'know?" She smiled to herself again. "If you's awake righ' now, you'd probably be cussin' me out and tellin' me ta quit wastin' yer time." Her eyes once again fell upon his face. "I heard about Merle, too. Dale told Dean about it, back when Sophia ran off and we went in tha RV. Yer probably doin' all this 'cause you know what it's like…not knowin'…I can't imagine wha' ya went through to look for yer brother." Still, Daryl didn't move, so she just sighed and got up. "Well, I'll leave you alone."

After giving him one last glance, she turned and walked out of his room, quietly closing the door behind her. Once she got into the hallway, her eyes locked with another pair. They belonged to Patricia, Otis's wife. Rylee just looked down and laughed nervously. "It, uh…It ain't what ya think…he's asleep." Patricia smiled. "Oh, don't worry yourself. I wasn't thinking anything like that." Rylee looked back up to her. "Just wanted to see if he was doin' okay." "He'll be okay. I promise you that." She smiled at Patricia once more. "I think I should get back to camp, try to get some sleep. I'll see ya in the mornin'." Patricia smiled back at her. "Goodnight, sweetie." "Night," Rylee replied then headed back down the hallway and out the door back to camp.

* * *

It had been a couple days. Rylee had gone out and searched for Sophia almost all night. But when she got back, she started a fire and just sat there. She just sat there watching the fire until morning. And it was early when Dean got up. She heard his tent unzip and he stepped out. "Sleepless nigh', huh?" he asked. "Yep," she answered with a sigh staring at the fire which was out by then. He stood beside her. "Where did ya go the other night? When Daryl was laid up?" he grunted as he stretched his arms over his head and sat down next to her. "What?" "Where'd ya go?" he repeated. "On a walk." He scoffed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Uh huh. Quit bullshittin'." Rylee rolled her eyes. "Okay, ya caught me red handed. I checked up on Daryl." "Yeah, checked on him," he said, putting air quotes around the word 'checked'. "Y'know, I'm gettin' real sick o' yer shit," Rylee growled. "Here all week, darlin'," he said with a wink. He then turned and looked over at Rick's camp. "I see there all out n' about." He tapped Rylee's arm. "Come on. Let's go check on Daryl." "Joke's gettin' old, Dean," Rylee groaned. "Not for me," he sang.

They made it to their camp and all said their greetings. Dean looked over at a tent and saw Daryl laying inside. He made his way over and looked in. "Hey there, practice target." "Don't anybody know how ta leave me alone?" Daryl asked. Dean laughed and squatted down in front of the tent. "Boy, you look like shit," he told him. Daryl sat his arrow down that he was holding. "Feel like it," he responded. "Figure out how yer gonna kill Andrea yet?" Dean asked casually. Daryl shrugged. "Well, I thought I'd just put a bullet in 'er skull, but that'd be too quick n' too painless." They both laughed a little. "Nah, we're cool," he then said to Dean. He just nodded. "Rylee was out all night lookin' for Sophia. She's gotta bad habit of runnin' off after I hit the hay." Daryl looked at him, waiting for him to continue. "She didn't find nothin'. She's gettin' damn frustrated with it, too." Daryl shifted a little bit. "Yeah, I know how it feels." Dean then noticed him look out the side of his tent and seemed to be slightly distracted. "Thinkin' 'bout somethin'?" Dean asked, causing him to turn back to him. "Ah, nah. Jus' somethin' I dreamt about tha other nigh'. Migh' be a sign or somethin'. Hell, I don't know. Don't really believe much in tha' shit." Dean raised an eyebrow. "About Sophia?" Daryl shook his head. "Nah, it was jus'…I don't know wha' it was…I think it was an angel or somethin' like tha'." He shifted again. "Came in my room. Sang some song ta me." Dean smiled and shook his head. "Come on, now. Ain't no angel gonna sing for you," he teased. "Tch. Surprised me, too." Dean looked down at the dirt beneath him, the same image of Otis flashing in his mind that had been bothering him ever since he saw that scene. He just fell to the ground and just like that, he was gone. Dean's eyes went back to Daryl, who was looking at him. "Can I talk ta ya about somethin'?" he asked, causing Daryl to raise an eyebrow. "About wha'?" He sighed and Daryl watched as he climbed into the tent and sat next to him. The atmosphere shifted and so did Dean's mood. He rubbed the back of his neck as he looked at the nylon floor. "I, uh..." Daryl didn't say anything, just waited patiently for him to start. "Yer quite, righ'?" Dean asked. "You don't...tell people things." Daryl looked at him strangely before saying, "Guess so." He got silent for a moment and bit his bottom lip, unsure what exactly to say. "Say, uh...say ya saw somethin', righ'? And wha' ya saw it-it was bad." "How bad?" Daryl asked, tilting his head slightly. He hesitated. "Pretty bad," he finally said. His hand then went to his mouth and he began to bite on his nails. Daryl took note of this nervous act. "Ya sayin' somethin' like somebody gettin' hurt.. or killed?" "Somethin' like tha'," he responded, removing his nail from his mouth. He and Daryl exchanged looks and Dean knew he already had suspicions. He decided to just say it. Dean leaned in and said in a low voice, "Shane killed Otis." Daryl glanced down for a brief moment, but looked back up at Dean. "I know." After stating this, he could tell Dean wanted to know how just by the look on his face. "He ain't a good liar," Daryl explained. "Cud tell by tha looks you's givin' 'im, too. Ya look disgusted...pissed. Cud jus' see it in yer face." Dean didn't seem to like this information. What if the others could tell? What if one of them confronted Shane? Dean would be in trouble then. But then again, Daryl was very observant, more observant than everyone else. He watches things closely, so maybe no one else noticed after all. "Rylee know?" he asked, breaking Dean's train of thought. "No," he answered softly and Daryl nodded. "Keep it tha' way. I don't know 'er all tha' well but good enough ta know tha' if she finds out, she'll kill tha' sumbitch. Don't tell Rick neither. He migh' not believe ya. He don't want to. Anybody else know?" Dean shook his head, but then told him, "I think Dale has suspicions. And I think he knows he's righ'." Daryl nodded. "Well, can't say I'm surprised. Dale ain't stupid n' neither am I." Dean sighed and cleared his throat. "I'm jus' happy I got it off ma chest. At least someone else knows." He then sighed and got up. "Ya get ta feelin' better," he said as he crawled out of Daryl's tent, then walked off.

He made his way over to Rylee who was talking to Rick. "We gonna look today?" Rylee asked him. Rick nodded and looked down to the map. "Creek flows south passed that farmhouse Daryl found. Maybe Sophia dropped the doll there, turned around and brought it down stream." "So what you think," Shane said, "is she took this road right here and went north?" They discussed this for a moment until Glenn walked over with a basket of fruit. They all grabbed one. Glenn stood and looked at Rick for a moment, then turned around and looked back at Lori. Something was off. It seemed as though there was something he wanted to say. He looked back at Rick. "Binoculars," Shane said. "Oh, yeah." Glenn sat the basket down and handed them the pair of binoculars he had hanging on his shoulder. He picked the basket back up. "Okay. Bye." They all looked at him strangely as he walked off. Rylee looked at Dean, then followed him. "Hey," she called out to him. He quickly turned around and she came up to him. "There somethin' buggin' you?" she asked. He just looked at her. "Uh. Uh, no. Why?" She raised an eyebrow at him. "Ya sure?" "Yeah. Yeah, no. I'm fine," he said, almost stuttering. "You, uh…look like you haven't slept." Rylee caught on and realized he was trying to change the subject. "Is that a polite way o' sayin' I look like shit?" she asked him. His eyes widened. "Oh, no! I just meant…I meant-" She lifted her hand. "It's okay. I'm jus' messin' with you." He looked at her for a second. "I'm gonna go over here now," he said, then turned and walked off.

Dean then approached. "He alrigh'?" he asked with a laugh. "To be honest, I don't know," Rylee replied.

They took it easy the rest of the day. The next morning they came down and had breakfast with the rest of the group. Dean and Rylee grabbed a plate and sat on the ground between Carl and Daryl. "Mm-mm-mm. This sure is good, Carol," Dean told her. She smiled at him. "Well, I try," she replied. But there was a sort of awkwardness that had fallen on the group. Everyone was especially quiet today. Rylee looked at Dean and he noticed this, too. Glenn stood up and made his way over to the tent, but then he stopped and slowly turned around to face everyone. Rylee watched him closely. He seemed a little nervous, more nervous than he was the other day. "Um…guys…" Everyone looked up at him and he just looked back. "So…" He hesitated. "…The barn's full of walkers…" Everyone stopped eating and just stared at him. "Wait…" Rylee said. "There's…there's what in the barn…?" He didn't respond. His eyes went to the ground underneath him. But then Shane stood up and made his way in the direction of the barn. Everyone else followed and when they made it over, he peered in through the barn doors. Rylee could hear the moaning and groaning of the undead. Shane then back away and stormed passed Rick. "You cannot tell me you're okay with this." "I'm not," Rick said over his shoulder. "But we're guests here, this is not our land." "Oh, come on. This is our lives, man!" Rylee couldn't keep her eyes off the barn. But somehow, she met eyes with Daryl, then looked away after a second and back to the barn. "We can't just sweep this under the rug," Andrea said as she folded her arms. "We either gotta go in there, make things right, or we just gotta go," Shane explained. "Now, we've been talkin' 'bout Fort Benning for a long-" "We can't go," Rick told him. "Why, Rick? Why?" "Because my daughter's still out there," Carol intervened. Shane then let out a sort of laugh. "Okay, I think it's time we all just start to consider the other possibilities." "We're not leavin' Sophia behind," Rick told him. That's when Daryl stepped into it. "We're close ta findin' this girl. I jus' found 'er damn doll a few days ago." Shane was getting fired up. "You found her doll, Daryl. That's what you did. You found a doll." "You don't know wha' the hell you're talkin' 'bout!" Daryl stepped up to him, ready to fight. "I'm just sayin' what needs to be said here," Shane shouted. "Now, you get a good lead within the first forty-eight hours-" Rylee couldn't quite understand what all he was saying. Rick was calling to him, trying to calm him down. "Let me tell you somethin' else, man: If she was alive out there, saw you comin', all methed out with your buck knife, geek ears around your neck, she'd go runnin' the other direction!" Daryl was fighting hard to try to get to Shane, but Rick was in between them. Rylee started to feel strange. Her heart started beating fast and she started to sweat. _Tick tick tick tick_ … She looked around. What was that noise? _Tick tick tick tick_ … "Hey." Dean grabbed her arm. "You alrigh'?" _Tick tick tick tick…_ Oh, no. She knew what it was. _Tick tick tick tick_ … All Rylee knew was that Shane and Daryl had stopped lunging at each other and Shane was now shouting at Rick. Rylee could feel a growing pain in her head as she watched. _Tick tick tick tick_ … "Rylee," Dean said. "Say somethin' to me." She grabbed onto him and felt like she was either gonna snap or pass out. There was ringing in her ears and along with it, she heard Dale's voice. But every noise made just sounded muffled. Her eyes wondered around and they met Daryl's was giving her a strange look and she could hear Shane shouting again. _Tick tick tick tick_ … But then, something jostled her system and snapped her out of her trance. The barn doors shook and the walkers inside growled loudly in hunger. A few people of the group backed away. "Come on," Dean said in her ear. "Let's go back."

Dean had eventually gotten her back to camp and sat her down. "You okay?" he asked her. "Yeah," she said weakly. "I'm alright." "What tha hell happened ta you?" Daryl asked as he approached, stopping beside her and looking down. "I…I'm okay…" "I jus' happen ta look over n' you's pale as a ghost," he explained. "I-I know…I'm okay…Jus' need a second ta breathe." He looked at her for a second, nodded, then turned and walked away. Rylee just sat there for a few minutes wondering what had just happened.

Later on that day when she was feeling better, she, Dean, Rick, and Andrea stood by the car looking at the map. Rick was explaining to them what the plan was to find Sophia, but then Hershel walked up. "Rick," he called. Rick looked away from the map and turned to him. "Hershel. We just have our guns out because we're going to look for Sophia." "Before you do that," Hershel said as he rolled up his sleeves, "I could use your help with something." "Count me in," Andrea said with a hand on her hip. "Us too if you need it," Rylee added. "Thank you," Hershel said to them. "But I just need Rick." They just looked at each other for a moment. "I'll be down at the barn keeping watch until you're ready," Andrea said to Rick. "Yeah, uh…we'll be…somewhere," Rylee said then she and Dean walked away towards the house.

The two were standing by the porch with everyone else after a while. Rylee stood there, smoking a cigarette when T-Dog approached the house. "Do you know what's goin' on?" "Where is everyone?" Andrea then asked. "You haven't seen Rick?" Glenn asked her. "Went off with Hershel. We were supposed to leave a couple hours ago." "Yeah, you were." Rylee looked over to the source of the voice and saw Daryl and Carol making their way up to the house. "What tha hell?" "Could've told us he was goin' out," Carol added. Rylee got slightly worried. Rick and Hershel didn't get into trouble, did they? They did go off on their own. "Damnit, isn't anybody takin' this seriously?" Daryl asked harshly. "We got us a damn trial," he said, pointing back into the direction of the woods. But after looking for a second, he said, "Oh. Here we go." Rylee looked in the direction Daryl was facing and Shane stormed towards them, carrying the guns. "What's all 'is?" Daryl asked him, pointing to the rifle he had in his hand. "You with me, man?" he asked and Daryl took the gun from him. "Time to grow up," Shane said to everyone. "You already got yours?" he asked Andrea. "Yeah…where's Dale?" "He's on his way," he answered, mumbling. He then handed a gun to T-Dog. "Thought we couldn't carry 'em." "Well, we can and we have to," Shane replied. "Now, look. It was one thing sittin' around here pickin' daisies when we thought this place was supposed to be safe, but now we know it ain't." His eyes went to Glenn and he took a few steps towards him holding out a rifle. "How 'bout you, man? You gonna protect yours?" Glenn looked to Maggie, then grabbed the gun from him. "That's it." Shane faced Maggie now. "Can you shoot?" "Can you stop?" she retorted. "You do this, you hand out these guns, my dad will make you leave tonight." "Shane, wha' are you doin'?" Dean asked. Shane held out a rifle to him, but he didn't except it. "You can't do this," he said to him, glaring into his eyes. "You've done enough." Shane raised an eyebrow and he lowered the gun. "Suit yourself," he mumbled. "We have to stay, Shane," Carl told him as he stepped down off of the porch. And at that time, Lori came around the corner of the house on the porch and asked, "What is this?" "We ain't goin' anywhere, okay? Now, look. Hershel, he's just gonna have to understand, alright? Well, he…he's gonna have to." He then stepped towards Carl. "And we need to find Sophia, am I right?" Shane knelt down in front of Rick's son and held out a pistol. "I want you to take this." Rylee then walked over, leaned down, and grabbed a rifle out of the bag of guns. "Rylee, stop," Dean demanded. She then felt his tight grip on her arm. "Let go of me, Dean," she spat. "I can't let you do this." She glared into his emerald eyes. "Ever since the Turn happened, this is tha only place I've ever felt safe. I ain't givin' that up to a bunch of flesh eatin' monsters in a damn barn. You're lettin' me do this rather you like it or not." "I'm not standin' by while you do this stupid shit," he said. "Stupid? Y'know what's stupid? Treatin' these things like pets. They're dead people!" "Oh, shit," T-Dog exclaimed. Everyone looked over and saw what he was reacting to. It was Rick and Hershel, pulling two walkers with some sort of stick that had leashes attached to them. Shane ran in their direction and everyone else followed. "What tha hell are you doin'?!" Shane shouted. "Shane, just back off," Rick said through his teeth. Rylee stopped and looked at the walkers. _Tick tick tick tick_ … Twice in one day. This was the second time this was happening. Just the sight of the undead was enough to set her off after it already happening once today. Perhaps it just left her more fragile than usual. "Why do your people have guns?" Hershel asked, trying to get control of the walker he had. Shane was furious. "Are you kiddin' me?! You see? You see what their holdin' onto?" "I see who I'm holdin' onto," Hershel shouted back. Rylee eyes went over to Daryl, who had his gun aimed at the walker Rick was holding. Then the voices muffled again. "…these are the things that killed Amy! They killed Otis!" "Shane, shut up!" Rick demanded. _Tick tick tick tick_ … Rylee just stood there but suddenly there was a loud pop that made her was Shane, firing bullets into one of the walkers. There were two more gunshots and Rylee was desperately fighting herself. She couldn't snap. Not right then. Not right there. "That's it heart! It's lungs! Why is it still comin'?" Shane shot at it again. _Stop…stop…stop_ … In her mind, she was begging Shane to stop himself. There was no way she could do it verbally. There was one last gunshot and the walker fell to the ground. Rylee could hear her heartbeat in her ears. "Rylee," called Dean's muffled voice. But she ignored it. She listened to Shane's muffled shouting until he turned and opened the barn doors. _Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick_ … The ticking sounds sped up as she heard the moans from the walkers inside the barn. The doors swung open and the first walker stepped out. _Tick, tick, tick_ \- Rylee then reached her breaking point. She threw the rifle down and pulled out her pistol. There were gunshots all around her as she aimed and fired. She just couldn't stop herself. _Kill…kill…kill_ … One by one, the walkers were falling to the ground. "Rylee," Dean's voice called again, but she still didn't react to it. The undead just kept coming out of the barn and she felt like she had been standing and shooting forever. Then there was silence. No more were left standing. Nothing.

Rylee blinked and came out of her trance for the second time today. What just happened? All she knew was that she was holding a gun and there were bodies lying everywhere. She looked around and everyone had lowered their guns. Rylee felt sick at her stomach and just stood there feeling lost. She didn't know what she was doing there or how she'd got there. There was the sound of someone crying somewhere behind her, but she didn't look. Right now, she didn't really care. But then there was a small growl coming from inside the barn and she felt a grip on her arm. It was Dean. He didn't say anything, just held onto her. She kept her eyes on the barn, then one last walker stepped out. But it wasn't like the others. It was a little girl with short, dirty blonde hair. It was the one they had been looking for this entire time. It was Sophia. No one moved. They did nothing but stand there and watch as Sophia emerged from the barn. "Sophia!" Carol had come running, but Daryl caught her as she passed and she collapsed onto the ground, bringing Daryl with her. Rylee just looked at the little girl and her pistol fell to the ground. The little girl made her way through the mess of corpses around her, stumbling towards Rick and the group. She growled at them as she approached. There were footsteps and they belonged to Rick. He walked passed Shane and up to Carol's daughter and aimed his gun. Then he pulled the trigger…and Sophia's body fell to the ground.


	9. Problem

Rylee wasn't there for Sophia's service. After it was over, Dean made his way back to their camp to find her sitting there, making arrows out of some twigs she had gathered. He approached her, then stopped and just looked her. She didn't look up or say anything. "Ya missed tha service," he told her. Rylee didn't respond, just kept carving away. Dean watched the chips of wood fell to the ground in the middle of the silence. "This ain't yer fault, Rylee." "Who said I was blamin' myself?" she snapped as she looked up, almost cutting him off. Dean looked into her eyes before she went back to what she was doing and he sighed. "Well, whoever yer blamin', it ain't their fault neither." That's when he heard Rylee scoff. "Wha' makes you so sure 'bout that?" "It ain't nobody's fault," he responded. "The hell it ain't," she mumbled as she felt the tip of the arrow, testing it's sharpness and setting it aside. He walked over and sat down beside her. Reaching over, he picked up one of the sticks in the pile and pulled out his pocket knife. "I tried ta stop you," he said as he went to work. She shook her head. "I don't regret wha' I did. If ya ask me, I think Shane did tha righ' thing. If he hadn't done tha', we woulda never found 'er. I don't like ta admit it. I hate tha bastard." "Yeah, I'm not too fond of 'im myself," Dean replied as he scrapped the chunks of wood off of the twig. "I noticed you have another 'spell' while we were down at tha barn. Wha' is goin' on with you today, anyway?" She didn't answer him. She felt the tip of the arrow, but then went back to working on it. His eyes were on her, she could feel it. "You gonna tell me anything?" Rylee stood up and threw her arrow down. "What, Dean? What tha fuck do you want me ta say?" she shouted. He stood up also. "I want you to jus' talk! I'm tryna help you, goddamnit!" Then she got in his face. "Help me with what? You can't help me with nothin'! Hell, you couldn't even help me find yer momma!" "Aye, you watch it," Dean sneered as he pointed a finger at her. "All ya had ta do was go with 'er. But, no. Ya let her wonder off by herself. Some son you are." Dean's nose twitched in anger and his eyes filled with rage. "What about you, huh?" he said with a shaky voice. "You coulda went with her, too." Rylee looked away for a brief moment. "I wouldn't her kid." He just turned away from her and looked down. Suddenly, his knife went flying and slammed against a tree, then fell to the ground. "We found 'er…but it was too late…same with Sophia…" Rylee said as her face softened and she lowered her voice. "I'm tired of it always bein' too late." Dean turned back to her, but the anger in his face was gone. He just looked at her as her eyes remained on the ground. The silence between them was almost unbearable. "Yer righ'," he finally said. "It was my fault. I let her go off on 'er own." Rylee sighed then looked up at him. "I didn't mean it, Dean," she mumbled. "But you were righ'. It's my fault she's dead." His voice cracked a little and Rylee looked over. He was crying. "She…she told me she'd be alrigh'…" She didn't say anything. She just walked up to him and wrapped her arms around him as he cried on her shoulder. "She's dead because of me…" "It's not yer fault," Rylee said to him as she patted him on the back. Dean then pulled away from her after a few moments and wiped his eyes. "I'm gonna head back…figure out what happens next. Hershel's obviously pissed. He probably wants all of us gone." And with that, he turned and headed back.

It was later on that day when Dean came back. Apparently, Rick was nowhere to be found, so Dean just decided to go hunting. Rylee figured he wanted to be alone, so she let him be and didn't offer to go with, just told him to be careful. She was sitting there next to her tent, cleaning her nails when she heard footsteps approaching. It wasn't in the direction of the woods, so she knew it wasn't Dean. She looked up to see Lori coming her way. "Ya needin' somethin', I ain't got it," she mumbled as she looked back down. She heard Lori give a frustrated sigh. "Something's wrong with Beth. Hershel's gone and Rick and Glenn went after him. I already tried to get Daryl to go, but he refuses." "How's tha' ma problem?" Rylee asked harshly. Lori put a hand on her hip. "Where's Dean? I'll ask him." Rylee looked back up to her. "Good luck findin' 'im. Went out huntin'." "Well, can you find him for me?" Lori asked. Rylee folded her arms. "Dean ain't gonna do it neither. If he was goin' to, I wouldn't let him. I ain't about to let them two dumbasses get him killed." Lori looked slightly surprised. Rylee just shook her head and sat back down. "We jus' found Sophia today and now yer husband's off God knows where. He's a damn moron if ya ask me. Why don't ya get back ta your camp?" She went back to cleaning her nails, but Lori still stood there. Rylee turned to her. "Go on," she said, shooing her away. Lori finally turned and stormed away.

Almost as soon as she was gone, Dean came walking out of the woods watching Lori walk away. "What'd she want?" he asked, causing Rylee to jump slightly and turn around to look at him. "Damn, you scared tha shit outta me." Then she turned back to Lori. "And nothin'. Jus' lookin' for an errand boy." Her eyes went back to Dean for a moment, noticing he only had Rylee's bow in his hand. "No game, huh?" He sighed, then made his way over and sat next to her. "It's like the animals are fuckin' extinct." Rylee laughed slightly and pointed off in the direction of Daryl's camp with her knife. "Well, we got ourselves some competition out yonder. Ain't no tellin' how many squirrels he's got hangin' out there." Dean laughed a little as well. "That sumbitch." Her smiled slowly faded and she reached for her backpack. "I think I got somethin' in here." She then pulled out a couple cans and sat them on the ground. "Chicken noodle soup?" Dean asked, an eyebrow shooting up his face. "Beggars can't be choosers," Rylee replied. He sighed and grabbed them. "Start a fire so we can warm it up." She went to do as she was told, but then she thought about her encounter with Lori earlier. "Y'know what's wrong with Beth?" she asked Dean over her shoulder. "I didn't know anythin' was wrong with Beth," he answered, so Rylee decided to drop it. She then went to work on the fire so she an Dean could eat and call it a day.

The two went to bed after dark. Well, Dean did. Rylee tried to sleep, but she couldn't stop thinking about Sophia. She sat outside her tent and watch the sun rise over the woods. While doing this, she realized how tired she was. It was the same routine every day: get up, help Rick's group, go back to camp, eat, and sit up all night. It was getting tiring, but when the world ends, there isn't much else to do. She felt out of place here, like everyone was against her. Rylee looked over at her backpack sitting in her open tent, then looked over at Dean's tent. He was still asleep. The sunrise shone on his tent just right, allowing her to see inside. His body laid in there still, and his breathing was slow. Quietly getting up, she went into her tent and started picking up her things and filling in what space was left in the bag. She grabbed her knife, her pistol, and anything else she had sitting there. Rylee made sure to keep some food sitting out for Dean. Then she put the bow over her shoulder and started to walk off. She didn't want to be here anymore. Nothing good seemed to come out of this, but she knew if she waited until Dean was awake, he wouldn't let her go.

After starting to make her way across the pasture, she looked over to see movement over at Rick's camp. Everyone was loading up the trunk of the car. Then she saw Daryl and thought about the other night when she went into his room. She stopped right there in the middle of the field and looked back to her camp before her eyes went back to Daryl. "What tha hell am I doin'?" she asked herself. Rylee turned and made her way back, but as soon as she got back to her tent, she heard movement in Dean's tent. Before she knew it, he came up out of it. "Wha' are ya doin'?" he asked. She didn't answer. Rylee sat her backpack down along with her bow. "Wait, were you…were you leavin'?" "Yes, Dean. I was leavin'," she replied without looking up. She expected him to say something, but he didn't. He just sighed and turned back to his tent. "Rick left." There was a silent moment. "What?" "He left…yesterday. That's wha' Lori wanted. She wanted me ta go out n' get him. She had already asked Daryl n' he didn't do it." "You didn't think ta tell me?" Dean asked. Rylee looked down. "I didn't want you riskin' your life for this group again." "But that's Rick," he replied, raising his voice slightly. "I know," Rylee said softly. "I was wrong ta not tell you." "Damnit, Rylee." He turned, then reached for his bag, put it on, and stormed away towards the camp. Rylee hesitated for a moment before doing the same.

They both walked up as everyone was filling the back of the car. "Where tha hell ya'll been?" Daryl asked, looking up. "Same place as you. Somewhere else," Rylee replied harshly as she passed him. She didn't look at him, but she could feel his glare. But they all looked up when they heard a vehicle approaching. "Is tha' Rick?" Dean asked her. She didn't reply, instead watched the vehicle pull up in front of the house. Once the car stopped, Rick stepped out and shut the car door behind him. His son, Carl, ran over into his arms. Then Hershel and Glenn stepped out and Hershel made his way inside. "Patricia," he called. "Prepare the shed for surgery." "Surgery?" Rylee asked. "But everyone looks fine." She looked over after T-Dog pointed and asked, "Who tha hell is that?" "That's Randall," Glenn answered. It was what appeared to be a young man sitting in the backseat with a red rag over his eyes and he seemed to be unconscious.

Eventually, they all went inside into the dining room. "We couldn't just leave him behind," Rick explained. "He woulda bled out, if he lived that long." "What do we do with him?" Andrea asked him. Rylee didn't even stay for the rest of the conversation. She turned and stormed out onto the porch. She couldn't believe Rick had picked this guy up. It was just another mouth to feed. Who was this guy anyway? Did he just appear out of nowhere? Rylee didn't really care much. They just lost Sophia and here Rick is bringing another guy to camp that they can't trust. No one knows who he is. It wasn't long after she thought this that Shane stormed out. He walked passed her, but she called out to him. "What tha hell's goin' on in there?" she asked. "I don't…" He stopped. "I don't know." "He one of us now?" He turned and looked at her. "Tha boy," she clarified. Shane looked back at the house. "Sure as hell better not. That's all I gotta say 'bout it." He stood there for a moment, then Rylee got up and made her way over to him. "Look, I got somethin' I wanna say." He raised an eyebrow as she approached. "I may not particularly like you very much, but I never got a chance ta thank ya for what ya did back at tha highway. You had tha option ta either shoot us or send us packin'…but you didn't do tha'." Shane just looked at her and waited for her to finish. Rylee didn't like doing this very much, but she swallowed her pride. "And wha' you did at tha barn…I ain't sayin' ya did anything wrong, but there was a better way you coulda handled it. That was Hershel's family." Shane nodded and looked at her. "Glad someone here agrees with me." Rylee shook her head. "Don't get me wrong, I still don't like you, but that don't really matter." He looked down and rubbed his head, seeming to hold back something he wanted to say. "You wantin' to say somethin'?" He looked up and his eyes met her. "Look here, little girl. I didn't ask if you liked me or not. I was protectin' the group." She gritted her teeth and looked down for a brief moment. "Well," she said. "At least we agree on one thing: tha group should be protected. So, let's jus' leave it at that." Shane nodded once more. "Alrigh' then." And with that, Shane walked away.

As soon as Shane stormed away, Dean came out of the house and stepped down off of the porch. Rylee turned to him. "Well?" she asked him. Dean looked down and put his handed on his hips. "I reckon they're takin' him a few miles out n' lettin' him go." Rylee raised an eyebrow. "Tha' ain't a good idea. It migh' come back n' bite us in tha ass." Dean didn't reply. "What'd you say they should do?" "It's their farm. My input don't mean much." He then sat down on the steps and ran his fingers through his dirty blonde hair. "Well, what do you think they should do?" He looked up at her. "If I was Rick," he said. "I'd put a bullet in 'is head n' be done with it." She nodded. "I agree," she simply said.


	10. Hide

It was a long while before Rick and Shane got back. They weren't alone, though. They brought Randall back with them. He was out in the shed with Daryl as the group waited on him to get back. "So whatcha gonna do?" Andrea asked. "I'd feel better if there was a plan," Carol mumbled. Then Andrea asked, "Is there a plan?" "We gonna keep him here?" Glenn added. Rick took a deep breath and let it out. "We'll know soon enough," he told them all. He then nodded in the direction of the shed and everyone turned to see Daryl approaching. "Yer boy there's gotta gang," Daryl informed them. "Thirty men. Gotta heavy artillery and ain't lookin' ta make friends. They rolled through here, them boys are dead. And them women, they're gonna wish they were." "What did you do?" Carol asked him, indicating his bloody knuckles. Daryl looked down at it for a moment. "Had a little chat." Rylee smiled to herself at the sight. "Don't look like there was much talkin' on your side," Dean said to him as Daryl walked passed. Rick spoke up. "No one goes near this guy." That was all he said before Lori made her way over to him. "Rick," she said in a low voice. "What are you gonna do?" He exchanged looks with everybody. "We have no choice. He's a threat. We have to eliminate the threat." It's about damn time somebody came to their senses, Rylee thought. They couldn't trust this guy and she was sure no one felt safe with him here. Dale's voice broke Rylee's train of thought, though. "You're just gonna kill him?" "It's settled," Rick told him, avoiding eye contact. "We'll do it today." Rick turned and walked of, but Dale followed him.

It was almost sunset when everyone met back inside Hershel's house to discuss Randall's fate. They were all in the living room when Carl came inside. Rick turned and looked at him for a moment, but without saying a word, Carl turned and kept walking. Once he was gone, Glenn asked, "So, how do we do this? Take a vote?" "Does it have to be anonymous?" asked Andrea. "The majority rules," Lori said low. Rick stepped up. "Well, let's just…let's see where everyone stands, then we can talk through the options." Rylee and Dean stood there side by side in the doorway leading to the dining room and listened to Rick. There was a silence, but Shane's voice soon broke it. "Well, the way I see it," he said, "only one way to move forward." "Killing him. Right?" It was Dale who said this. Rylee looked over to him and it was obvious he wasn't very happy. He looked around at everyone before saying, "I mean, why even bother to take a vote? It's clear which way the wind's blowin'." "Well, if people believe we should spare him, I wanna know," Rick responded. Dale's eyes continued to roam around the room. "Well, I can tell you it's a small group. Maybe just me and Glenn." He and Glenn exchanged looks. "I think you're pretty much right about everything," Glenn told him. "But this-" Dale cut him off. "They got you scared." "He's not one of us," he explained. "And we've…we've lost too many people already." Dale squeezed the hat in his hand as if it were a stress ball. He then pointed it at Maggie. "How 'bout you? Do you agree with this?" She didn't reply right away, but she turned to Rick and asked, "Could we continue keepin' him prisoner?" "Jus' another mouth ta feed," Daryl said from behind Rick. "It may be a lean winter," Hershel added. Lori looked over at him. "We could ration better." "Or he could be an asset," Dale interrupted. "Give him a chance to prove himself." "Put him to work?" Glenn suggested. "We're not lettin' him walk around," Rick said. "We could put an escort on 'im," Maggie suggested. Shane then spoke up. "And who wants to volunteer for that duty?" "I will," Dale said, but was almost cut off by Rick. "I don't think any of us should be walkin' around with this guy." Dean then decided to speak. "Well, if that's what we end up doin', I could escort 'im." "Rick's right," Lori said. "I wouldn't feel safe unless he was tied up." "We can't exactly put chains around his ankles and sentence him to hard labor," Andrea said matter-of-factly.

"Look," Shane started. "Say we let 'im join us, right? Maybe…maybe he's helpful. Maybe he's nice. We let our guard down and he runs off and maybe brings back his thirty men." There was a moment of hesitation and Dale spoke again. "So, the answer is to kill him, to prevent a crime that he may never even attempt?" Everyone was silent. "If we do this, we're saying there's no hope. Rule of law is dead. There is no civilization." "Could you drive him further out?" Hershel asked Rick. "Leave him like you planned?" "You barely came back this time," Lori told her husband. "There are walkers you could bring down. Y-you could get lost." "Could get ambushed," Daryl added. Dean nodded. "Who knows? Randall's men migh' be out there waitin' on ya." It was this time that Patricia asked, "If you went through with it…how would you do it?" Everyone looked to Rick, but it was Shane who spoke. "We could hang him, right? Snap his neck?" "I thought about that," Rick replied. "Shooting may be more humane." Silence fell across the group again. It seemed like there was no end to this conversation and Rylee was ready to storm out again. She even thought about just going on out to the barn and taking care of it herself. "What about the body-" T-Dog began to talk, but Dale interrupted. "Hold on! Hold on! You're talking about this like it's already decided." "We been talkin' all day," Daryl told him. "Goin' 'round in circles. Jus' wanna go 'round in circles again?" "Daryl's righ'. We need ta make a decision," Rylee announced. "This is a young man's life," Dale said, raising his voice. "And it is worth more than a five minute conversation. Is this what it's come to? We kill someone because we can't decide what else to do with him? You saved him! Now, look at us. He's been tortured, he's gonna be executed." There was a look on Rick's face that Rylee had never seen before. Was it shame? She couldn't quite tell. "How are we any different than those people we're so afraid of?" "We all know what needs to be done," Shane said softly. "No, Dale is right," Rick said. "We can't leave any stone unturned here." Then suddenly everyone tried to talk over one another. Rylee's patience was wearing thin. "Hey!" Everyone stopped and looked at her. "Let me jus' say somethin'." They waited for her to continue. "Things ain't like they used to be, alrigh'? We don't handle things tha same way. Now, I don't give a damn about that kid. And I know it ain't my place to tell you what you need to do, but hell, we keep talkin' like 'is, we'll be talkin' 'til sunrise. We need ta stop talkin' and make a choice. We ain't done nothin' but chase our tails this entire conversation." There was a moment before Rick lifted his hand. "Alright. That's enough. Anyone who wants the floor before we make a final decision has the chance." Rick waited, but no one said a word. They were all quiet. "You once said that we don't kill the living," Dale said to Rick. "Well, that was before the living tried to kill us," Rick replied. Rylee rolled her eyes, but Dale spoke back to Rick. "But don't you see? If we do this, the people that we were, the world that we knew, is dead. And this new world, it's ugly. It's harsh. It's a survival of the fittest! And that's a world I don't wanna live in. And I don't believe that any of you do. I can't." He looked around at everyone as tears built up in his eyes. "Please," he begged. "Let's just do what's right." Once again, he waited for someone to say something. "Isn't there anyone else who's gonna stand with me?" Everyone just looked at him before Andrea spoke up. "He's right. We should try to find another way." Rick looked around. "Anyone else?" But his question was answered with a quiet moment. He then turned back to Dale. "Are ya'll gonna watch too?" Dale asked with a sarcastic tone in his voice. "Nah, you'll all go hide in your tents and try to forget we're slaughtering a human being. I won't be a party to it." He then turned and went to walk out, but when he reached Daryl, he stopped. "This group is broken," he told him, and with that, he was gone.

It was nighttime when Rick, Shane, and Daryl took Randall to the barn for his execution. Dean and Rylee stayed there near the house and sat on the porch as the others sat around the camp fire. They just sat there, not saying a word to each other. Rylee observed the firelight that shone on the barks of the trees until Dean's voice filled the air. "That discussion we had earlier 'bout had me ready to blow a damn hole in my head." Rylee brayed. "I hear that," she mumbled to him. He looked over to the barn and waited for the sound of the gunshot. But there was still no noise. "Wonder what's goin' on in there," he said. Rylee looked down and spotted a small pebble sitting on the step. She grabbed it and tossed it, then sighed. "Kid's probably beggin' for his life. Won't be surprised if Rick spares him." "Yeah, me neither," Dean told her, then looked down. "I guess it's jus' easy for us. We've already killed livin' people before." Then Rylee looked over to him. "Yeah. And we need ta keep that ta ourselves if we wanna stay here. They obviously ain't got much of an idea what it's like out there. Tha parts we seen anyway."

It wasn't long before the two spotted Rick walking back to camp with his son. "I didn't hear a gunshot," Rylee said. "Reckon they hung 'im?" Dean just watched for a moment, then nudged Rylee's arm. "Let's go find out." They got up and walked over to the fire where everyone else was. They watched as Rick finally stopped and looked up. "We're keeping him in custody. For now," he informed them. "I'm gonna find Dale," Andrea said with a smile as she got up. Keeping him in custody? Was he serious? "Carl, go inside," Lori instructed her son. "Now, please." Rylee waited until Carl had disappeared before she said something. "What happened ta killin' him?" she asked Rick, then his eyes went to the ground. "We're keeping him alive until further notice." She was about to step towards him, but Dean got in the way. "Come on. Let's go. He's made his choice." "Where's Daryl?" Rylee asked Rick. He looked at her. "Takin' Randall back to the shed." She just nodded and turned, walking away. Once she made it to the shed, she saw Daryl push Randall inside. She followed and went in. "What happened?" she asked him and he turned around and shrugged. "We can't let 'im live," she told him. "Ain't up ta me," Daryl replied. Rylee shook her head. "Whatever." "Look, I don't like it either, but it's Rick's call," he said. She just sighed. "Yeah," she told him. "I know." Rylee stood and watched as he tied Randall back up. But then he stopped and looked at Rylee. "You hear tha'?" he asked. She listened to and her eyes widened. There were cries out in the distance and Daryl grabbed the lantern and bolted passed Rylee. "Move!" He shoved her out of the way and she ran behind him.

The two rushed out into the pasture where they heard the yelling coming from. "Where's he at?" Rylee asked Daryl in a panicked matter. "Sounds like it's over here. Come on!" Daryl lead the way as they dashed through the field. Soon, there was something visible laying in the grass. They both ran as fast as they could when they realized it was a walker hovering over someone. Suddenly, Daryl dove and tackled the walker to the ground and shoved a blade into it's skull. "Dale…" Rylee breathed out. "Dale…oh my god…" She couldn't do anything but stand there and stare at him. It was too late. The walker that had pinned Dale down and ripped his abdomen open and his insides were exposed to the outside air. Daryl made his way over then waved his arms and shouted. "Help! Over here! Help! Run!" They both knelt down beside him and Rylee looked into his eyes. "Hold on, Dale. We're gettin' help. Jus' hang in there." "Hang on there, buddy," Daryl said to him as the others ran over. Rick made it over and got on his knees next to Dale, turning his head towards him. "Dale, just listen to my voice. Just listen to me, alright?" Rylee suddenly felt a pair of strong arms around her. It was Dean. "Don't look, Rylee," he whispered to her. "Get Hershel," she heard Rick call. But after that, all she could hear was Dale's groans of pain. She couldn't stand the sight of him there on the ground helpless. He was just as alive as the rest of them not even a couple hours ago. Now, there he lay, ripped open and bleeding out. "Don't look at him," Dean said to her once again. But she couldn't help it.

It wasn't long before Hershel had made his way over. "What happened?" he asked as he knelt down onto the grass. "Can we move him?" Rick asked, turning to Hershel. "He won't make the trip," he answered. "We have to do the operation here. Glenn, get back to the house," he ordered as he stood. "Rick," Hershel said as he grabbed his shoulder. Rick looked at him and all he did was shake his head. Rick squatted back down and watched as Dale flinched and cried out in pain. "He's suffering," Andrea said. "Do something!" Rick slowly pulled out his gun and aimed it at Dale's head with a shaky hand. He just stood there, aiming it at his head. He couldn't do it. He couldn't shoot Dale. But then someone's hand laid on top of Rick's and it belonged to Daryl. He took the gun from Rick and got down on one knee next to Dale. He looked him right in the eyes as he aimed it. "Sorry, brother," he said softly and kept his hand steady. There was only a second of hesitation before Daryl pulled the trigger. And that was the end of Dale.


	11. Footprints

It was the second service that Rylee didn't show up to. There was a very saddening vibe coming off of everyone in Rick's group and Dean just couldn't ignore it. It was almost as if he had lost one of his own, but he and Rylee seemed to be one of them now, so in a way, he did lose one of his own. He never talked to Dale much, but it felt like he had known him forever. The man stood up for what he believed was right and he wasn't letting this cruel world change him. Dean admired that, for he had fallen victim to this world and let it change him. He wasn't strong like Dale was, wasn't as hopeful. That man wanted to keep what little bit was left of the old them. He wanted to hold onto the life that they used to know. He was a good man.

Dean was the last one standing there at Dale's grave. After staring at it for a few more minutes, he turned and walked away, heading back to camp. He walked to the other side of the field where his and Rylee's tents were set up. She wasn't sitting outside like she usually was and her tent was open. He made his way over and peeked in. Her bag was there and so were the rest of the weapons. But something seemed out of place. Dean stepped into her tent and looked around, but that's when he realized what it was. Her knife was missing. He just stopped and thought for a moment, then stepped out and called, "Rylee!" After pausing for a moment, he gained no response. Then he turned and faced the woods. "Rylee!" Again, nothing. "Damnit," he cursed under his breath then grabbed the keys to his four-wheeler. He walked over and jumped on, turning it on, heading back to Hershel's house, and made sure to look around at the tree line in case he saw her.

When he made it back, everyone was standing there outside. He pulled up to Rick's camp and whistled, gaining their attention. "Rylee's gone." Rick looked at his wife then made his way over. "Where'd she go?" he asked. "I don't know." "Reckon she went huntin'?" Daryl asked as he approached, carrying his crossbow. "No. Her bow and gun are still at camp. She only took her knife. Don't know what tha hell she's doin'." Daryl just sighed and scratched his head. "I don't wanna go lookin' for her by myself. Not after what happened to Dale." "Alright, look," Rick said. "Daryl and I will go out and look around. You just go on back to camp." Dean looked at him like he was crazy. "Hell no! I'm goin' out there." "We'll find 'er. Go on," Daryl told him. He looked at him for a second, considering it. Then he shook his head. "If you don't come back with her, I'm goin' out in them woods. I'ma wait here." Rick then turned to Daryl and jerked his head in the direction of the woods. Daryl hesitated for a moment before deciding to go.

They walked away from the camp and was soon in the middle of the field heading towards the woods as Daryl led the way. "Gettin' damn tired of huntin' for people," he said. Rick didn't reply right away. He stared off at the tree line for a moment. "Well, we can't just let her wonder around out there." "If tha broad was smart, she wouldn't have went out there in tha firs' place." He then looked over his shoulder at Rick. "Why didn't you let 'im come?" Daryl heard him sigh. "Makin' sure he don't see somethin' he don't wanna see." He turned around and looked at Rick for a moment, then faced back to the woods and kept going. Rick had a good point. If they found Rylee already turned, it would be a good thing Dean wasn't with them. Daryl didn't know these two very well, but he could tell they were extremely close. It didn't seem like a kind of romance, but more of a brother-sister relationship. He would probably lose it if they found Rylee as a walker. Daryl wouldn't like it that much either, but he wouldn't really cry about it. Though, he was already getting tired of losing people.

They finally made it to Rylee and Dean's camp. Daryl slowed down and started observing his surroundings, looking for Rylee's tracks. He made his way over to what he assumed was her tent and peered inside. "Yeah, she ain't gone huntin' I don't think. She left all 'er weapons." "Dean said she has a knife," Rick replied. Daryl stepped inside and looked around for a moment, then turned back to Rick. "Don't think she's doin' somethin' stupid out there, do ya?" "Only one way to find out," said Rick. Daryl looked around for a few more seconds, then climbed back out and looked at the ground next to the tent. "Hold on. I think I got 'er trail." He knelt down and studied the tracks. "Yeah, they're hers. Ain't big enough ta be Dean's." He took his crossbow in his hands and followed Rylee's tracks out into the woods with Rick close behind. They both listened closely for any noises and watched to see if they saw any movement. The two made their way through the trees, listening to the birds chirp in the distance. Once they got a little deeper in the woods, Daryl stopped and looked around with a confused expression on his face. Rick noticed and also stopped. "What is it? Her trail go cold?" "Nah," Daryl answered, "but it's goin' in all different directions." "What do you mean?" Rick asked. Daryl stood there, not replying for a moment. But then he answered, "Somethin' coulda went down righ' here, but I only see her footprints." Rick raised an eyebrow and looked around. He was right. It was like she walked around in circles in this spot. "She probably knew he'd send us after 'er. Migh' be tryna confuse me." He then looked up. "Gonna have ta do better than tha', darlin'." He spotted where her trail went off into a different direction and they were back on track again. They took a few steps before they heard a twig snap, followed by shuffling. Daryl then heard someone's voice, and it sounded like a female. "Come on," he said to Rick as he quickly went in the direction of the noise. They kept going until they saw movement, then moved behind a bush. Daryl looked ahead and saw someone. It was Rylee standing face to face with a walker. She kicked it in the stomach hard, sending it to the ground. Suddenly, she jumped on top of it and down came her knife, right into it's skull. Daryl moved up from behind the bush then made his way over to her, but she quickly turned to swing the knife at him, but he caught her wrist. She looked at him wide-eyed as she felt his tight grip. Her face and clothes were covered in blood and dirt. "What tha hell you doin' out here?" he asked harshly. "Dean sent us after you," Rick added. Rylee jerked her hand away from Daryl and rubbed her wrist. "What's he worried about me for?" "Well, you wondered off alone without tellin' anybody," Rick told her. She scoffed and turned to walk away. "That's 'cause I didn't want no company." "Jus' come on," Daryl said as he grabbed her arm, but she roughly pulled away from him. "I'll go when I'm damn ready to." "What's yer problem?" She glared into his eyes. "I ain't got a problem, now leave me tha hell alone." "At least tell us what you're doin' out here," Rick said to her. "Blowin' off steam," she simply said. "By killing walkers?" She then met eyes with him. "What else am I supposed ta kill? Tha' boy ya got locked up in tha shed tha' shoulda been already dead in tha first place?" Rick looked away from her and to the ground. They all stood there in silence for a moment before Rylee spoke again. "You tell Dean I'll come back when I get ready to. He ain't my father. My father's most likely dead, I ain't gotta listen ta him." Daryl stepped up to her. "Yer gonna get your damn self killed out here, now come on." Rylee put a hand on her hip and thought for a moment. "Fine," she said, then shoved her knife into a holder she had hanging at her other hip.

Most of the walk back was silent. They made their way passed Dean and Rylee's camp and was on their way to Rick's camp. By the time they reached the middle of the field, Rylee finally spoke. "I'm gettin' tired of losin' people to 'em." Rick and Daryl stopped, then turned around and looked at her. Her eyes were on the ground, but she then lifted her head when she heard the footsteps come to a halt. Neither one of them said a word. They just stood there and waited for her to say something else. "When all this shit happened…I lost my mom and Bayleigh, my sister. Watched 'em both go down. Attacked by walkers." They both kept standing there just feet away. "I'm scared. I'm scared of those things." She turned and looked back into the direction of the woods. "I'm scared of turnin' into one of 'em. That's the only thing that scares me." Rylee kept looking straight forward until she heard someone walk up behind her and felt a hand on her shoulder. "Come on," a voice said softly. It was Rick. "Let's head back to camp. Dean's worried."

Once they made it back, Dean stood up when he noticed the three approaching. "Where tha hell were you? Mind tellin' me why you're covered in blood?" he snapped at Rylee. "Don't matter," she mumbled as she walked passed him. He looked to Rick. "Out in the woods killing walkers," he informed him. He turned back to Rylee. "Killin' walkers? Are you fuckin' stupid?" She walked over to him and got in his face. "I don't need yer shit righ' now, Dean. You ain't done nothin' but argue with me tha whole damn time we been here." "That's because you're givin' me reason to," he fired back at her. She took a step back. "You know what?" she said. "Have fun sleepin' up at that camp by yourself." "Oh, what are you doin'? Breakin' up with me?" he asked her with a sarcastic tone as she walked passed him back towards her camp. "It would be best," Rick interrupted, "if ya'll stayed near the house tonight. We're all moving inside. It's too dangerous out here. After what happened to Dale, we don't want anyone out in those fields." "Well, if I get ate by one of them walkers, I guess it'll jus' be on me then, huh?" she replied as she walked passed Rick, but he grabbed her arm and led her away a few feet so they could talk privately. "Rylee," he said softly. "Stop puttin' yourself in danger. You're one of us now and we need to look out for each other. I get it. The loss of Sophia and Dale frustrated you, but the rest of us actually knew these people. We're grieving." She looked down at the grass. Rick was right. Rylee didn't knew these people, so why is she so angry? It must've just frustrated her that those things keep taking people away. "I'm sorry," she replied in almost a whisper. "I'm sorry I haven't been grateful and haven't really put forth much effort. I'm…I'm sorry I haven't repaid you…for your group takin' us in." "Well, I know I can trust you," Rick responded. Rylee looked up with a raised eyebrow. "How so?" "You've had plenty of opportunities to kill us," he said. "And you didn't." She smiled. "Can't waste the bullets," she joked. He laughed a little then patted her on the back. "Go on inside and get yourself cleaned up. I'm sure Lori has some extra clothes you can wear while we clean yours." Rylee looked him in the eyes. "Thank you, Rick." He just nodded, then turned and walked away.

Later on after Rylee got cleaned up, she helped the others move their things into Hershel's house. She walked over to the trunk of the SUV and grabbed a basket full of clothes, but then turned to see Carl standing there. "Where did you go when you disappeared?" he asked. She stared at him for a moment, then sat the basket down and leaned up against the car. "I went out in the woods," she answered. "Did you kill walkers?' he then asked. "You were covered in blood when you got back. I saw you." She sighed and looked at the ground. "Yeah…I was killin' walkers." Carl hesitated for a moment, as if he were considering what he should ask next. "Were you mad because of what happened to Dale?" She waited a moment before answering. "Yeah," she said. "I was mad because of what happened." He didn't say anything else, he just stood there. Rylee gave him one last glance before picking the basket back up and heading inside. Before she even got a few feet away, Carl said from behind her, "It was my fault." She stepped dead in her tracks, then turned around. "It's my fault Dale's dead," he said quietly. Rylee looked around for a moment, then made her way back over to Carl, sat the basket down, and knelt down in front of him. "Why's it your fault?" She almost felt guilty for asking this, because he appeared to be on the verge of tears at this point. "I saw the walker before it killed Dale." A slight hint of confusion spread across her face and Carl answered the question before she even asked it. "I stole Daryl's gun and I went out in the woods. I saw it…but I didn't kill it. I got scared and ran." "Have you told anybody other than me?" Rylee asked him. "No," he answered.

She felt horrible. This kid was really beating himself up for this, but she couldn't help but wonder why he had trusted her with this instead of someone else. She then noticed that Carl wouldn't make eye contact. He just kept his head down. "Listen," she finally said. "You ain't tha one to blame. It coulda been any walker out in that field." Then Carl finally made eye contact with her. "Are you gonna tell my dad?" he asked softly. "No," Rylee answered. He was silent for a second. "Are you gonna tell my mom?" "Honey, I'm a little scared of yer momma," she joked, earning a small laugh from him. "Don't you tell her I said that," she added as she pointed to him. "I'll have ta skin yer noggin'." She then ruffled his hair, but his smiled soon faded. Rylee stood up and sighed. "Nah, I ain't tellin' your parents. But only because you need to be the one to do that." Once again, he got silent. Rylee picked the basket back up and look down at him. "I gotta finish helpin' ya'll get moved in here, alrigh'?" He just nodded, then Rylee turned and headed into the house.

Once everyone was finished moving in, Rylee walked around the farm to clear her mind. She couldn't get her mind of Carl. The poor killed blamed himself for someone's death. She couldn't imagine how tough it must be being his age and feeling responsible for something so horrible. She's felt responsible herself for someone's death, but not when she was that young. Rylee wanted to tell Rick, but like she told Carl, his son needed to be the one to tell them. Hopefully, he would. Her thought was interrupted when she looked up and saw Daryl standing by the side of the house. He hadn't noticed her, so she made her way over to him. He looked up when he could hear her footsteps and watched as she approached. "Any idea where Dean is?" she asked him. Daryl shrugged. "Probably back at camp poutin'." She smiled once she made it to his side, then leaned up against the house and folded her arms. "Yeah, probably," she replied. Her eyes were roaming around the farm until they landed on the barn. Then she thought of the boy they were holding captive, Randall. After what happened to Dale and everything that had happened that day, she had completely forgotten about him. "Any idea what we're gonna do with the kid?" she asked without turning to Daryl. "Same plan as before," he answered as he leaned up against the house beside Rylee. "Takin' 'im out n' leavin' 'im." She sighed. "I still don't think that's a good idea." "He wouldn't make it back," he responded. "Ain't nobody lookin' for 'im either. If there was, they'd done been here by now." She started looking around the farm again and thought of this morning when Dean sent Daryl and Rick to go look for her. Rylee couldn't even remember how many walkers she had killed out in the woods. It had to of been at least a few, judging by the blood that was left on her clothes. Then she turned to Daryl. "About earlier-" "Nah, don't worry 'bout it," he said, cutting her off. "No, I just wanted to say sorry for tha trouble." "Wouldn't much of a trouble," he said as he looked back to her. "Wouldn't hard to find ya." She smiled, but it quickly faded. "I knew he'd send ya'll after me. Tried to lure ya away with the tracks. Guess I underestimated you." "That was yer firs' mistake," he replied as he looked away.

Rylee observed the scenery again until she looked over at her and Dean's camp. She saw him step away from the fire pit and go towards his tent. After he disappeared into it, he soon stepped out with her bow. "I guess I gotta go back to camp," Rylee sighed. Daryl scoffed. "Good luck with that," he replied to her. She nodded. "Yeah, I'm gonna need it. I'll see ya." And with that, she walked off back to her campsite.


	12. Liar

Once Rylee made it back to camp, Dean was still there. She thought he was going hunting when she saw him with her bow, but instead he was gathering their things. "Hey," she said as she made it to his tent where he was standing. He stopped and looked at her. "Hey." She lowered her head and slid her hands into her pockets, but when she opened her mouth to speak, he spoke instead. "You're about ta say sorry for earlier. You ain't gotta." Rylee lifted her head. "Actually, that's not what I was gonna say." He turned and went back to gathering their things. "Then what?" She watched him as he pulled his back pack out of the tent and start taking it down. "I jus' wanted ta say that you ain't gotta be on my ass all the time. I'm a grown woman. I can take care of myself." "Hell, I know," he mumbled as he stopped what he was doing. Rylee was slightly surprised by his response, but he looked up and continued. "I realized that. But whenever you go off like 'at, tell somebody. It don't even have ta be me, jus' somebody." She didn't disagree with that. It was kind of stupid for her to go off into the woods without letting people know. If she had gotten in trouble, it would've been it for her. She watched as Dean grabbed up the tent and strapped it down to the back of the four-wheeler. The two made their way to Rylee's tent, took it down, and did the same. Once they did that, Dean hopped on. "Come on," he said as he stuck the key in and turned it on.

They went back to the farm and started setting up camp right there in the front yard. Everyone else was already moved inside, so they figured it would be too crowded, so they settled for the outside. By the time they had started setting up, everyone was getting ready to take Randall back out and away from the farm. T-Dog turned and left to go get the boy, but it wasn't long before he came back alone and he seemed almost panicked. "He's gone," T-Dog said. "What?" Dean asked him. "He's gone. He ain't in the barn." Everyone turned and rushed to the barn where they had Randall. The door was still standing open from when T-Dog looked inside and Rick and Andrea went in. Daryl followed but only looked inside then turned away, obviously angry. He looked out around at the trees to see if he saw anything. "How tha hell did he get out?" Rylee asked. "I don't know," Rick called from inside. That's when everyone else rushed out of the house and made their way over. Rylee turned away and also started looking around. "Think we could track him?" she asked Dean. "I don't know. If we could, then Daryl migh' take that job. I don't see none, though." "Cuffs are still hooked," Rick said as he stepped outside. "He must've slipped 'em." The two then turned to Rick. "Is that possible?" Carol asked him. "It is if you've got nothin' to lose," Andrea said, also stepping out. "Door was secure from the outside," Hershel said, observing the door. Then Dean ran his fingers through his hair. "Damnit, we should've had somebody guardin'." Rylee looked around for a moment. "Where's Shane?" she asked him. He looked at her, then also looked around for him. "Rick!" The angry voice shouting was coming from the woods. "Rick!" It was Shane. Everyone turned and looked. He had blood running down his nose and from his mouth. "What happened?" Lori called to him. "He's armed! He's got my gun!" he shouted as he approached. "You okay?" Carl asked. "I'm fine," he answered. "Little bastard just snuck up on me, caught me in the face." Rick turned around. "Alright. Hershel, T-Dog, get everybody back in the house. Glenn, Daryl, come with us." "What about us?" Rylee asked. Rick nodded his head. "Ya'll too." "Let's let him go. That was the plan, wasn't it? To just let him go?" Carol asked them. "The plan was to cut him loose far away from here, not on our front step with a gun," Rick answered. The six turned and started walking away, but Carol called, "Don't go out there! You don't know what can happen!" "Get everybody back in the house, lock all the doors, and stay put," Rick called back over his shoulder.

Rick, Shane, Glenn, Daryl, Rylee, and Dean headed into the woods and passed the tree line. "I saw 'im head up through the trees that way before I blacked out," Shane explained as he pointed to the left. "I'm not sure how long." "He couldn't have gotten far," Rick said. "He's hobbled, exhausted." "And armed," added Glenn. Rick turned around. "So are we. Can you track him?" he asked Daryl. Daryl looked down at the ground. "Nah, I don't see nothin'." "Neither do I," said Dean. "Hey, look. There ain't no use in trackin' him, okay? He went that way. We just need to pair up and spread out. We just chase him down, that's it," Shane ordered. Daryl looked up at him. "Kid weighs a buck twenty-five soakin' wet. You tryna tell us he got tha jump on ya?" He's got a good point, Rylee thought to herself. Rick turned to Daryl. "You and Glenn start headin' up the right, me and Shane will take the left. And you two," he said turning to Dean and Rylee, "ya'll go on straight ahead." Rylee nodded then Rick looked around. "Remember: Randall's not the only threat out there. Keep an eye out for each other." Then they all split and headed in the directions that Rick told them. Once Dean and Rylee were a good bit away from the others, she told Dean, "Daryl brought up a good point back there." Dean kept his eyes on the ground, carrying Rylee's bow. "Yeah, I know. Shane's built like a brick shit house. Ain't nobody gettin' passed him." "So, you don't believe him?" Rylee asked. Dean scoffed. "Please. I believe in Daryl's chupacabra more than I believe Shane's bullshit stories." "Stories?" Rylee asked, toking notice that he meant more than one. She stopped walking, but Dean kept moving. "So, you think he killed Otis?" "I know he killed Otis. I saw it," he answered immediately, turning around and looking at her. "He killed him. Sumbitch ain't as good of a liar as he thinks he is." Dean turned and started moving forward again, but Rylee didn't. She stayed put. "You saw it?" "Yes, I saw it," he said, stopping again and raising his voice. A shocked look spread across her face. "Dean, why didn't you tell me?" His expression was almost angry by now. "You really think 'at prick would let me get away with tellin' everybody? He'd get rid of us both. Or me. He'd kill me n' you'd kill him n' Rick would most likely kill you." Rylee ran her fingers through her hair, letting it fall back down in her face. "Did you tell anybody at all?" Dean sighed. "I told Daryl. Dale didn't need me ta tell 'im. He figured it out himself." The two started moving forward again, and Rylee asked, "You think tha others out here lookin' believe his Randall story?" she asked. "Daryl? Hell no. Glenn? Maybe. Rick..." He paused. "I'm not too sure." They looked for a good while, but Rylee found nothing.

It got dark soon and she was giving up hope of finding the kid. They had been out for almost three hours and saw no sign of him. The two figured the others had been back by then, but once they got back to the house, they weren't there. They stepped up on the porch, but before Rylee could knock, Dean stopped her. "Rylee." She had lifted her hand to knock on the door, but she lowered it and turned to him. "Randall n' Shane ain't our only problem." "Dean, don't tell me," she said as she stepped towards the steps. "I don't even wanna know." He followed and stood beside her. "Jus' look." Rylee looked down to see Dean's hand held out. The object sitting there sent chills straight to her bone. She couldn't believe her eyes. "No," she said as she backed away. "Please tell me this is a joke." "Rylee if 'is was a joke, even I wouldn't think it was funny." She looked back down to his hand before she mumbled, "I'd rather it be a joke that ain't funny than you holdin' out a Blue Army arm band out in front o' me."

The object Dean had in his hand was a blue piece of thin cloth that shone in the moonlight. The edges of it showed that it had been torn and there were wrinkles in the fabric where it had been tied tightly. "It ain't been layin' there long," Dean informed. "It ain't tha' dirty. They're close, Rylee. We gotta convince Rick tha' we need ta get tha fuck outta here." Rylee pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head. "What do we tell 'im? 'Oh, there's a whole goddamn army o' men after us. Y'all need ta get packin'.' You really think he's gonna go for that?" "We gotta try," Dean said, almost cutting her off. Rylee gave a frustrated sigh. "Fuck," she cursed under her breath. They stood there thinking for a moment, then Rylee turned back to Dean. "Look, I gotta go in for a second. Can you stay out here n'..." "I'll keep watch," he assured her, closing his hand around the cloth and letting his arm fall to his side. She nodded, then stepped towards him. "If you see anything outta tha ordinary," she said quietly, "you come get me firs'. Do _not_ open fire." He nodded. "You got it."

Dean stepped down off of the porch and walked out in the yard, then Rylee turned and knocked on the door. "It's me," she called. There was a moment before she heard the sound of the door unlock and it opened to reveal Hershel standing there. "We didn't find him," Rylee said. "But the others ain't back yet." Hershel looked down and nodded, then stepped aside to allow her in. Once she got inside, Lori came into the room. "Where's Rick?" she asked. "Ain't back yet. None of 'em are," Rylee answered softly. She sighed and sat down on the couch, but Rylee asked, "Where's Carl?" "Upstairs," Lori breathed out. Rylee looked at her, then turned and headed up the stair case. She turned and went into a room that had the door open and found Carl standing there, looking out the window. "Hey, little man." He turned around. "Hey," he said quietly. Rylee walked over and sat down on the bed as Carl turned back to the window. "Is my dad back?" he asked her. She looked down. "No," she answered. "Not yet. Should be soon." He didn't say anything. He just kept staring out the window. "We can wait on the porch if you want," Rylee suggested. Carl was silent for a second. "Mom doesn't want me to go outside," he responded. "I'll be out there with you. Come on," she said as she stood and Carl turned and followed her. They went down the steps and passed Hershel, but before they made it out the door, Lori asked, "Where are you going?" Rylee turned around. "Just out here on the porch." "We're gonna wait for Dad," Carl told her. Lori replied, "I don't think that's a god idea." "Lori," Rylee said and she looked up at her. "I got 'im. Don't worry." She thought for a moment. "Alright," she finally said, "but do not leave the porch. Understand?" Carl nodded and the two went out.

Rylee closed the door behind her, then sat on the steps as Carl sat in the rocking chair. She pulled a pack of cigarettes out of her pocket, lit on up, and took a long draw from it, looking around to see if Dean was around but she didn't see him. She blew it out into the nighttime air, then Carl asked, "When did you start smoking?" Rylee looked over at him and laughed a little as she looked back to the ground. "Same as anyone else. I was a teenager." He stared at her for a moment. "Why?" She looked back up at him. "I don't know. Guess I wanted to be cool. All my friends were doin' it so I did it too." She paused for a moment. "I better not ever catch you with a cigarette in yer mouth, ya hear? Wished I never started." "I won't," Carl replied. Rylee turned and looked out over the night sky. "Ah, I ain't worried about it. Yer a good kid." She then looked up to the stars and patted the spot next to her. "Come here. I wanna show you somethin'." Carl got up, sat next to her, and looked up at the sky. "You know where the Orion constellation is?" "No," Carl answered. "I only know where the little dipper and the big dipper are." Rylee looked at him surprised. "Really? Okay, look." She looked back up and pointed to the sky. "You see those three bright stars in a line? That's his belt." "Yeah," Carl said. "I see it." Rylee took another hit off of her cigarette. "Alrigh', way above 'at you got that bright, red star. That's Orion's head. Then over here, you got his weapon raised." She took another hit. "I think I see it," Carl said as Rylee blew out the smoke. "Now, over here to the right, you got his shield." They sat there and stared up at the constellation before Carl asked, "Who is Orion?" Rylee looked back up to the sky. "Well, in Greek mythology, Orion was a hunter." "Like Daryl?" Carl interrupted. She laughed a little. "Yes, like Daryl. But see, Orion, he was a giant. He was said to be real good lookin' too." Carl laughed. "Like Daryl?" he asked again, causing Rylee to laugh with him. "Yes, Carl. Like Daryl. You little punk," she said laughing and ruffling his hair. She turned back to the sky. "Anyway, somewhere along tha line, he ended up losing his sigh'. He pissed off some king I think it was, made 'im blind. Later on, he ended up fallin' in love with this huntin' goddess named Artemis n' he either died by her puttin' an arrow through him or a giant scorpion sting." "Why did she shoot him?" asked Carl. "Well, it's said that-" They both looked up and stood when they heard a gunshot. They looked out over the field and Carl said, "Someone's in the field. Is that my dad?" "Carl, don't go out there." But it was too late. Carl had already ran for the field. "Damnit," Rylee cursed as she bolted after him. He kept running and she called after him. "Carl! Stop!" He just kept going until there was someone in view and when he saw them he ran faster. Once Rylee made it over, Carl had stopped and was staring at the person. It was Rick. But then she noticed someone laying on the ground and realized it was Shane. "Dad?" Carl asked and it sounded like he was crying. Rick slowly turned to face his son and Rylee noticed the gun in Carl's hand. She had no idea he was armed. Rick slowly got up. "Carl…" He took a few steps forward. "You should be back home with your mom," Rick told him as he approached. Then Carl lifted the gun and Rick stopped dead in his tracks. Rylee turned to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Carl, give me the gun," she said softly. He didn't move. She watched as tears rolled down his face. "Just put the…put the gun down…" Rick said with a shaky voice. "Give me the gun," Rylee repeated, but he still didn't do as he was told. "It's not what it seems," Rick explained and he too was crying now. Then Carl pulled the trigger and Rylee's eyes snapped shut. She didn't want to look, but she then forced herself to. When she looked over, she was surprised to see Rick standing and uninjured. How can that be? She was certain she heard someone hit the ground. Then she noticed Shane lying in a different spot than before. Shane had turned and Carl shot him. Rick and Rylee both looked at Carl, whose breathing was heavy. The three made their way over to Shane's body, but Rick lifted his hand. "Wait, wait, wait." He slowly approached him and knelt down. It was obvious, though. Shane was dead.

After standing there for a few moments, Rick slowly got up. "He's gone," he sighed. "Let's head back." Without saying a word, Carl and Rylee did as he said. They were silent at first, but then Carl asked his father, "Are you bit too?" Rick was silent. "No," he finally answered. Rylee followed close behind, listening to the two talk. "Shane was," Carl said. Rick hesitated. "That wasn't Shane," he explained to him. "You know that." "It used to be," his son said as he looked up at him. Rick just kept looking forward without responding. They took a few more steps and Carl asked, "What happened?" Rick looked down. "Were you guys attacked? I mean, we heard a gunshot, but…I didn't see any walkers nearby." Rick was still silent, not saying a word to Carl or Rylee. "How did Shane die?" Then they stopped. Rick turned to his son and looked down. Rylee wanted him so say something, anything. He opened his mouth and it appeared he was about to speak, but then they all heard something. It was a noise that always sent shivers up Rylee's spine. They all quickly looked back, confirming what they heard. It was the growls of the dead. Rylee's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. It had to have been the biggest herd she had ever seen. _Tick, tick, tick, tick…_ "Oh my god," Rick breathed out. That's when they all turned and bolted in the other direction. They ran a good ways and squatted down next to a tree. "We gotta get back to the house," Carl said. "No, we can't do that," said Rick. _Tick, tick, tick, tick_ … "Y-ya'll g-go to tha barn," Rylee stuttered. Rick turned to her. "Just get t-to tha barn." "What about you?" Rylee began to shake. "I g-gotta f-find Dean. J-just go! Go!" The two ran towards the barn, leading the walkers away as Rylee ran back towards the house. Get away from the clock…gotta get away from the clock… She stopped and turned back. It appeared that somehow, none of the walkers had noticed her break away from Rick and Carl. _Tick, tick, tick, tic_ k… "Get away…" she told herself, trying to calm down and think. She had already forgotten where she was going. She had even forgotten where she was. But she kept running.

Once she made it to the house, she saw some of the group standing on the porch. "Rylee!" Someone called her name, causing her to stop in her tracks. "Who is it…who's there…" she whispered to herself in a shaky voice. _Tick, tick, tick, tick_ …. "Rylee! Get over here!" She looked up and saw someone jump over the rail of the porch. She knew the face and voice, but who was it? They grabbed her by the arm. "Where's Rick?" they asked her. "I…I…" Rick. Rick was in the field. Carl was in the field. She was in the field… Where was Rick? Wait, where was Carl? "Rylee, say somethin', damnit!" "I-I…I can't…" _Tick, tick, tick, tick_ … "Where tha hell are they? And where's Dean?" That voice. That face…Daryl! It was Daryl! "Jus' get insi…" His voice was growing muffled. Suddenly, she couldn't hear him anymore, but his mouth was still moving. Then she felt his tight grip on both of her arms and she tried to read his lips. _You need…inside…these walkers…out here…to find Dean_ … She couldn't breathe. Daryl was so close to her, she felt so closed in. "G-get off! Stop!" His mouth started moving again. _Wrong with you…yourself killed…the hell inside…now…_ She shoved him hard. "Stop! Yer killin' me! I gotta get away!" _Not…hurt you_ … "Where's Dean?!" _Asked…same thing…calm down…shaking_ … "I gotta get away from tha clock…" _What clock…inside…or fight_ … It seemed he had enough. He grabbed her by the arm and dragged her to his motorcycle. Daryl shoved her towards it and she climbed on as did he. The revving of the engine caused her to jump. Who is this? It's Daryl. There's walkers. Where's the clock? Fire…there's fire! The barn's on fire? Rylee's mind was just going a mile per minute and she couldn't seem to stop it. She was trying so hard not to snap right there on the back of Daryl's motorcycle. Walkers. Fire. Clock. Walkers. Fire. Clock. Dean. Daryl. Carl. Rick. Clock. Fire. Walkers. When Daryl stopped the motorcycle, she almost fell trying to get off of it. She felt a sudden tight grip on her hand and felt cold metal against her palm. When she looked down, she saw the firelight reflect off of it. It was a gun. Then she looked up. There was Daryl still sitting on his motorcycle. She looked over. There was the barn on fire. She looked back to her hand. There was a gun. Daryl. Motorcycle. Barn. Fire. Gun. Then Rylee just seemed to explode after hearing gunshots. She aimed the pistol Daryl handed to her and started firing as she could almost feel the adrenaline coursing through her veins. There's one. There's two. There's three. More. More. More. The gun wasn't enough. She needed to kill with her bare hands, so she then pulled out her knife. Daryl jumped off of his motorcycle, then ran to her, grabbing her by the arm. "Don't you go out there!" "Get the fuck off of me!" She swung her knife and Daryl quickly backed away grabbing his arm. Blood seeped through his fingers and he glared at her. "You tryna fuckin' kill me?" She turned back to the barn and kept shooting. The walkers just kept falling after every gunshot. But then she felt a pair of arms around her. "Let go of me, Daryl! Fucking let go!" She fought hard and almost broke free. "Rylee, stop! It's me!" It wasn't Daryl's voice. "Dean, do somethin' with that crazy bitch!" That was Daryl's voice. Rylee then stopped fighting when she realized it was Dean's arms around her. "Get back to the house," he ordered. "You don't need to be out here!" He shoved her behind him and started shooting with everyone else. Rylee didn't protest. She did as she was told and headed back to the house. Once she got there, she run up onto the porch but noticed Hershel out in the yard shooting his rifle. "Rylee, come on, we have to go!" It was Carol. But then Lori stormed up to her. "Where's my son?" "I…I don't know…he ran off…" She still couldn't remember. Lori then turned and called out her sons name, then lifted a gun and started shooting. Carol soon came back out with Beth and Patricia meanwhile Lori tried to get Hershel. "Hershel! It's time to go!" He ignored her and just kept shooting. Lori finally gave up and she and Rylee ran over to Carol and the others. They rushed off of the porch and headed towards the vehicle, but suddenly there was a scream and Rylee turned around. There stood Beth holding Patricia's hand. But Patricia was being attacked by walkers. "Patricia!" Rylee called. Lori ran passed her and over to Beth, pulling her away. Once Beth's grip was free, they ran to the SUV, but then the blue truck pulled up in front of them. Andrea opened the door and jumped out. "Get in!" "Get Carol," Lori ordered her, then she and Beth climbed into the truck and Rylee hopped on the back. The growls were so loud and coming from all around them. She aimed her gun and started firing again. More and more walkers surrounded them. "Fuck," Rylee said to herself, then beat on the back windshield. "We gotta go!" They didn't move. "Fucking drive!" Then T-Dog hit the gas and drove away from the herd that was surrounding them.

Rylee could do nothing but just sit there on the back of the truck. They just left Andrea. They left Carol. They left everybody. They left Dean…She had no idea where they were going to go from here. She lost Lori's son. She lost her husband. It was her fault. They could be dead right now and it was her fault. And so could Dean. It was her fault.


	13. Democracy

Rick stopped the SUV on the highway and Dean turned off his four-wheeler. He hopped off as Rick, Carl, and Hershel stepped out of the vehicle. "W-where's Mom?" Carl asked his father. "You said she'd be here." Rick didn't respond to him. He walked over to the car they had set supplies out on for Sophia in case she ever came back to the highway while they were at the farm. It looked like they didn't need to leave them sitting out anymore. "We gotta go back for her," Carl told Rick. He lifted his hand in response. "Carl-" "No, why are you running? What are you doing? I-It's Mom. We need to get her and not be safe a mile away." Rick laid a hand on Carl's shoulder. "We need to be quiet. Alright?" he said in a whisper. His son looked down for a moment, then back up to him. "Please," he said. "It's Mom." His father just stared at him, then knelt down in front of him. "Carl, listen-" "No!" He jerked away from his father and stormed off in the other direction. Dean watched as Rick stood an attempted to go after him but Hershel called to him. "Rick," he said, causing him to stop and look at him. "You've got to get your boy to safety. I'll wait here for my girls and the others. I know a few places. We'll meet up if not later." "We're…we're safe," Rick said as he turned to him. "We're not splittin' up." "Please," Hershel begged. "Keep your boy safe. I'll hide in one of the cars. If a walker gets me, so be it. I've lost my farm, I've lost my wife, maybe my daughters." "You don't know that," Rick told him. "They'll be here." Then Dean spoke up. "Rick, I can stay with Hershel while you get Carl to safety. I gotta wait for Rylee, anyway." "Neither one of you know that they'll be here," Hershel told them, then Rick turned back to him. "You are a man of God. Have some faith." Hershel stared at him. "I can't profess to understand God's plan. Christ promised a resurrection of the dead. I just thought he had something a little different in mind." Dean looked from Rick and Hershel to Carl, who was standing over by the SUV just looking at the ground. "We stick together," Rick said, resulting in Dean looking back to them. Hershel stood there as Rick walked away and over to his son. He stayed in that one spot, but Dean walked over to him. "Let's just wait a little longer," he said as he laid a hand on Hershel's shoulder. "We can't give up what little hope we have."

They all waited there for a good bit. Dean still stood there with Hershel until suddenly, there was a noise behind them and Dean turned around. It was growling from a reanimate. "Walker," Dean told Hershel. "Over there with Rick. Go." The two made their way over to Rick and got behind the SUV. Rick had already noticed the walker and they all got quiet as it passed by them. The four all moved to the back of the vehicle as the walker made it's way to the front. "I don't know how much longer we can stay here," Hershel whispered to the others. Carl looked up to his father. "I'm not leaving here without Mom." Rick turned to Hershel. "So, we're just gonna walk away? Knowin' that my wife, Dean's partner, and your girls are still out there? How do we live with that?" Hershel looked around before meeting eyes with Rick again. "You've only got one concern, now. Just one: keeping him alive. Nature may be throwin' us a curve ball, but that law is still true." The two looked at each other for a moment, but Dean broke the silence. "I can't go, Rick. Not without Rylee. I can't." He didn't reply to him. Rick hesitated before kneeling down in front of Carl. "Carl…" He looked into his son's eyes. "It's not safe here…I'm sorry." Carl looked down and was on the verge of tears. But then there was a noise off in the distance. It wasn't the usual hungry growls that they were used to listening. It was the sound of a loud motor. They all turned and looked over at the source of the noise. "I'll be damned," Dean mumbled. They had all turned their heads to see Daryl's motorcycle pull up, followed the silver SUV and the blue truck. Dean looked over at Hershel, who now had a big smile across his face. "I ain't never been so happy ta see tha' sumbitch," Dean beamed in an amused voice. He pulled around in front of the red SUV that Rick had drove there and they all ran to him as the other vehicles pulled up. "Where tha hell you been?" he asked Daryl as he reached his hand out. Daryl grabbed it and said, "Ta hell n' back." He got off the motorcycle and they all watched as Lori climbed out of the truck and ran to her family. Dean then turned to him. "Rylee," he said. "Where is she?" "Back of tha truck," Daryl told him. He turned and ran for the truck then made his way to the back. There sat Rylee, sitting down and out cold. Dean climbed up and got on the tail gate, then crawl over to her. "Rylee," he whispered as he shook her gently. Her eyes shot open and she lunged forward but Dean held her back. "Hey, it's okay." She looked around breathing hard. "Where…where am I?" "We're back at the highway," he answered, smiling at her. Rylee then turned to him and looked at him wide-eyed. "Carl," she said. "Where's Carl? And Rick?" He laughed a little. "They're fine. They're okay." "And Daryl?" she asked. "He's alright," he answered as his smile grew bigger. "Come on." He stood and grabbed her hand then pulled her up onto her feet. Rylee turned and looked around to see everyone, but then her eyes landed on Daryl. He was looking up at her and when she noticed him, he just nodded his head. "Where did you find everyone?" she heard Rick ask. She smiled and jumped off of the truck and walked over to Rick. She patted him on the back and he turned around to see her and smile at her. "Where's tha rest of us?" Daryl asked him. "We're the only ones who made it so far," Rick answered turning to him. "And Shane?" Lori asked as she stood up. Rick just shook his head slightly and looked away from her. "Andrea?" Glenn asked. "She saved me and I lost her," Carol said. Then T-Dog spoke for the first time since being here. "We saw her go down." "Patricia?" Hershel then asked. "They got her too," Beth answered quietly. Rylee watched as she began to cry and Hershel wrapped his arm around her. "What about Jimmy?" she asked. "Did you see Jimmy?" "He was in the RV," Rick replied. "He got overrun." Beth then started crying harder. "You definitely saw Andrea?" Carol asked. "There were walkers everywhere," Lori answered. "Did you see her?" Carol asked again. Everyone then just looked at her. "Imma go back," Daryl said as he went to get back on his motorcycle. "No," Rick said, stopping him. Daryl looked at him. "Can't just leave 'er." "We don't even know she's there," Lori said. "She isn't there," Rick replied. "She isn't. She's somewhere else or she's dead. There's no way to find her." Rylee looked at Dean then over to Rick. "I'm not too sure she made it out." "So, we're not gonna look for her?" Glenn asked. Rylee was about to say something, but then noticed something behind him. Everyone kept talking to each other, but Rylee nudged Dean's arm. "Guys…" she said. "Stay off tha main roads," Daryl told them all as he walked around his motorcycle and grabbed his crossbow. "The bigger tha roads, tha more walkers, more assholes like 'is one. I got 'im." He then lifted his crossbow and shot at the walker, sending an arrow straight through it's eye.

Everyone then climbed into the vehicles, Daryl got back on his motorcycle, and Rylee and Dean climbed onto the four-wheeler. The red SUV headed back down the highway with the rest of them following. They drove for a good bit, maybe about a couple hours. Daryl led the way with Dean close behind, the silver SUV, then Rick at the end. There was a sudden sound of a horn blowing and Daryl stopped. Everyone else did the same then got out of their vehicles. Rick made his way over to Daryl as he turned around and looked at him. "Blew out?" he asked Rick. "Runnin' on fumes," he answered. "We can't stay here," Maggie said as she made her way around the SUV. "We can't all fit in one car," added Glenn. "We'll make a run for some gas in the morning," Rick told them as he turned to face everyone. "We're spending the night here?" Carol asked. "I'm freezing," Carl spoke up. "We'll build a fire," Lori said. Daryl got off his motorcycle and grabbed his crossbow. "Gonna go lookin' for fire wood. Stay close. Only got so many arrows. How you doin' on ammo?" he asked Rick. "Not enough," he replied. Rylee then got off of the four-wheeler and grabbed her bow off the back. "Well, we can't jus' keep sittin' here with our asses hangin' out," Maggie told them. Hershel turned to her. "Watch your mouth." He then turned to everyone else. "Everyone, stop panickin'. Listen to Rick." Rick was looking around the woods, then turned back. "Alright, we set up a perimeter. In the morning, we'll find gas and some supplies. We'll keep pushin' on." Maggie spoke up to him. "Glenn and I can go make a run now." "We stay together," Rick told her. "God forbid somethin' happens and people get stranded without a car." "Rick, we're standed now," Glenn said to him. "I know it looks bad," Rick replied. "We've all been through hell and worse, but at least we found each other. I wasn't sure, I really wasn't, but we did. We're together. We keep it that way." There were a few moments of silence as everyone waited for Rick to continue. "We'll find shelter somewhere. There's gotta be a place." He took a few steps forward, but stopped. "Rick, look around," said Glenn. "There's walkers everywhere. Th-they're migrating or something." "There's gotta be a place. Not where we just hold up, but we…we fortify, hunker down, pull ourselves together, build a life for each other! I know it's out there, we just have to find it." "Even if we find a place," Maggie told him. "And we're sure it's safe, we can never be sure how long. Look what happened with the farm. We fooled ourselves into thinkin' it was safe." "We won't make that mistake again," Hershel told her. Rylee looked around, waiting for someone to say something, but it was Rick. "We'll make camp tonight. Over there," he said as he pointed over to some sort of cobblestone structure. "Get on the road at the break of day." Beth stepped towards him. "What if walkers come here or another group like Randall?" Daryl interrupted. "Y'know I found Randall…right?" Everyone turned and looked at him. "He had turned, but he wouldn't bit." "Is that so?" Rylee mumbled to herself and Daryl looked at her. "How is that possible?" Beth asked and Daryl turned back to Rick. "Rick, what the hell happened?" Lori asked her husband. She waited for a response, but Daryl spoke again. "Shane killed Randall. Jus' like he always wanted to." "And then the herd got him?" Lori then asked. Rick looked at her, but then looked away without a response. He just stood there and stared off as everyone else was silent. Rylee couldn't say she was surprised Shane killed him. She had already suspected that. But she looked up when Rick said something that shocked her. "We're all infected." Everyone did the same as she did. They just stared at him. "What?" Daryl asked. "At the C.D.C., Jenner told me…whatever it is…we all carry it." They all exchanged looks. It was obvious they were just as shocked as Rylee was. "And you never said anything?" Carol asked him. "Well, it didn't make a difference." "You knew this whole time," Glenn said. "How could I have known for sure?" Rick replied. "You saw how crazy that mo-" "That is not your call," Glenn cut him off. "Okay, I found out about the barn and I told for the good of everyone." "Well, I thought it'd be best if people didn't know," Rick told him. Glen didn't reply. Rick stared into his eyes then looked around at everyone else. "I can't believe this," Dean mumbled to himself and ran his fingers through his hair. After a moment, Rick turned around and walked away from them and Lori followed. Rylee looked at Daryl, who was getting his crossbow set then he turned to the woods.

Later on after dark, everyone had gathered around the camp fire they built. Rylee sat there next to Carol as Daryl threw something into the fire. "We're not safe here with him," Carol told him. "Keeping something like that from us?" Daryl stopped and looked at her. "Why do you need him? He's just gonna pull you down." Daryl shook his head. "Nah. He's doin' alrigh' by me." "You're his henchman," Carol replied. "And I'm a burden. You deserve better." Rylee looked at Daryl. Half of his face was illuminated by the firelight and a shadow casted on the other half. "What do you want?" he asked Carol. She thought for a moment. "A man of honor?" Daryl looked away. "Rick has honor." There was a moment of silence, but then Rylee looked back up to him. "Hey, Daryl." He looked over at her, casting the shadow back onto the side of his face again. "Back at the farm…" He waited for her to finish. "I'm sorry," she finally said. "I jus' went crazy. I don't know wha' happens to me sometimes…I jus'…I don't know…" His eyes went to the ground for a brief moment, then back to her. "It's alrigh'. Cut wouldn't deep. I'll be okay." Rylee looked back up to him. "But you best not do tha' shit again." She smiled, then Dean patted her on the shoulder.

All of a sudden, everyone looked up when there was a rustling in the bushes. "What was that?" Beth asked. Daryl stood up and pulled his crossbow off of him. "Could be anything," he answered. "Could be a raccoon, a possum-" "A walker?" Glenn interrupted. "We need to leave," Carol said. "I mean, what are we waiting for?" "Which way?" Glenn asked to no one in particular. "It came from over there," Maggie answered. Rick finally spoke up from off to the side. "The last thing we need is people runnin' off in the dark. We don't have the vehicles. No one's travelin' on foot." "Don't panic," Hershel told Maggie. "I'm not," she answered. "I'm not sittin' here waitin' for another herd to blow through." Carol said. Rick looked at Maggie. "We need to move now," she said. "No one is goin' anywhere," he seethed. They looked at each other. "Do something," Carol demanded. "I'm doin' somethin'," he growled. "I'm keepin' this group together. Alive. I've been doin' that all along. No matter what. I didn't ask for this. I killed my best friend for you people, for Christ's sake!" Rylee looked down. She had already known that. Rick didn't need to tell her, but she didn't want to tell herself that Rick had actually killed him. She turned her head and looked at Dean, whose mouth hung wide open. "You saw what he was like," Rick added, "how he pushed me…how he compromised us…how he threatened us…he staged the whole Randall thing, led me out to put a bullet in my back. He gave me no choice. He was my friend, but he came after me." Rylee looked over when she heard Carl crying. He had turned to his mother and she wrapped her arms around him. "My hands are clean," Rick told everyone. No one did anything but stand there. What could anyone say really? "Maybe you people are better off without me. Go ahead. I said there's a place for us, but maybe it's just another pipe drain. Maybe…maybe I've fooled myself again. Why don't you- why don't you go on and find out yourself? Send me a postcard." Still, no one moved or said a word. "Go on," said Rick. "There's the door. You can do better? Let's see how far you get." Then Rylee exchanged looks with Daryl. "No takers? Fine. But we get one thing straight…you're stayin'. This isn't a democracy anymore." He looked around at everyone one last time before turning and walking off. Somehow Rylee had gained a whole new respect for him. Rick was trying his best, but it seemed like it wasn't enough for some of the group. He has put his life on the life for a couple of them, but they didn't seem to appreciate it. Rick could abandon them if he wanted to, but he has stayed and is trying to keep them alive.

But he had now officially taken charge. It really wasn't a democracy anymore.


	14. Mars

Rick kicked open the two front doors to the house. He immediately raised his gun when he saw two walkers standing there and took down the first one. T-Dog went after the second one with a fire poker and stabbed it right between the eyes. After he took care of it, Daryl made his way in followed by Carl and Dean. Rick and Carl made their way to the back of the house and Dean followed Daryl into a different section. The two slowly made their way into another room and looked around, keeping their weapons raised. There was a second of relief when they discovered the coast was clear, but there was a sudden creaking of the floorboards off in the house somewhere. Daryl looked to Dean, then over to a narrow hallway where the noise was coming from. There was a door at the end of the hallway and Daryl made his was over as Dean followed closely behind. The tension grew stronger the closer they got to the door. Dean prepared himself for what could've been on the other side, lifting his knife and leaving only a small amount of space between him and Daryl. He almost ran into him when he came to a sudden stop. Daryl lifted his crossbow and Dean was ready to strike, but then the door swung open before Daryl even grabbed it. He aimed the crossbow, but didn't shoot it. The sound of him huffing filled the air and Dean looked over his shoulder to see Rick's face. Dean huffed also and smirked at him, then the two turned back, as did Rick.

After looking around for a few moments, they met back up with T-Dog and the three headed upstairs with Daryl taking the lead. Once on the second floor hallway, they split up and went into different rooms. Dean went into a bedroom that seemed to belong to a rebellious teenager...well, used to. He smiled as he looked around at the band posters and graffiti plastered on the velvet walls. It reminded him of when he was young, except he didn't have band posters, he had a rebel flag. He then shoved those memories out of his mind. Dean didn't really feel like thinking about that at the moment.

He made his way over to the bed and knelt down, looking under it and seeing a cardboard box. After pulling it out from underneath and opening it, he was surprised to find a stash of dirty magazines. He shook his head and quietly laughed to himself. _Ah, the hormones of a teenage boy._ His eyes studied the blonde on the cover wearing a small, black, lace lingerie, but then his eyes went to the side of the stack. He spotted a chain, then grabbed it up and held it in front of his face. It was a necklace that had a dog tag hanging on it, which had a skull engraved onto it. When he noticed the skull, he immediately thought of Rylee. Dean smiled and shoved the necklace into his pocket, then got up and headed out of the room.

He met T-Dog and Daryl in the hallway. He noticed Daryl was holding some sort of bird. After observing it for a moment, he realized it was an owl. Well, now it was dinner. They exchanged amused glances then headed back downstairs to discover Glenn and Maggie had joined Rick and Carl. The place seemed clear. Dean noticed the doors were open and Rick stepped towards them and whistled. There was a moment before Carol and Beth came through the door carrying their bags. Then came Lori, leaning on Rylee for support and followed by Hershel.

Lori was far long in her pregnancy and looked like she was going to pop. The group needed to find a place to set up and soon. All of this running around was tiring Lori out, and she needed a place where she could relax.

Everyone then settled down in the living room. Daryl sat down in a chair and Rylee sat on the floor next to him. She watched as he picked the feathers off of an owl he shot and was throwing them on the floor. Then she looked at everyone else as they situated their things, but after a second of her looking around, Carl rushed into the room with a couple of cans. Rylee's stomach growled loudly when she saw them, earning a glance from Daryl who appeared to have heard it. He gave her a pitiful look, then went back to work with his owl.

The group watched as Carl grabbed a can opener from his bag and started to go to work with it. Rylee raised an eyebrow when she realized what it was and disappointment washed over her. It was cat food. Rick then walked over to Carl and took the can from him. He read the label, then threw it against the wall causing Daryl to once again look up from the bird. He looked at him for a few seconds, then went back to picking feathers. No one said a word and Carl had a look of shame on his face. There was only a moment before some of them noticed T-Dog looking out the window, then he nodded his head towards it. That could only mean one thing: there were walkers outside.

Everyone quickly grabbed their belongings and Daryl lead the way out of the house. They made their way out back, then came around to the side where the vehicles were. The group jumped into them and Daryl's motorcycle revved up as Dean and Rylee jumped on the four-wheeler. After everyone was ready to go, they all drove off and didn't look back.

* * *

Everyone stopped on the road. Dean pulled the four-wheeler to a hault behind Daryl's motorcycle, then turned it off and hopped off the back. "Y'all holdin' up?" Daryl asked him. "Yeah," Dean answered. "Jus' fuckin' starvin'." He and Rylee walked over to the silver SUV where Maggie had the map spread out on the hood. "We got no place left to go," T-Dog informed everyone. "When this herd meets up with us, we'll be cut off," Maggie explained. "We'll never make it south." Daryl had made his way over and stood there beside Rylee. "What'd ya say?" Daryl asked Glenn. "There's 'bout a hundred n' fifty of 'em?" "That was last week," Glenn answered. "Could be twice that by now." "So, what do we do?" Rylee asked them. Herschel pointed to the map. "This river could've delayed them. If we move fast, we might have a shot to tear right through this." "Yeah, but if this group joins with that group," T-Dog responded, "they could spill out this way." "So we're blocked," Maggie mumbled. Rick had made his way over to the SUV and also pointed to the map. "Only thing to do is double back on 27 and swing towards this road." T-Dog scratched his head. "Yeah, we-we picked through that already. It's like we spent the winter goin' in circles." "Yeah, I know," Rick replied. "I know. At noon end, we'll push west. We haven't been through there yet. We can't keep goin' house ta house." He looked over to Lori, who sat in the truck. "We need to find a place ta hold up for a few weeks." Rylee also looked over to her. She looked exhausted. Lori needed a place to rest. She needed food and water. "Alright," T-Dog finally said. "Is it cool of we head to the creek before we head out? Won't take long, got a fill up on water. We can boil it later." "Knock yourself out," Rick told him.

Rylee then turned and made her way over to the four-wheeler and grabbed her bow and quiver. Dean followed an patted her on the back. "Ya hungry?" he asked. She scoffed. "Fuckin' starved." She placed the quiver strap over her shoulder. "Probably gonna go huntin' while everybody's busy." He nodded and looked at her for a moment, then it was as if a lightbulb went off over his head. He reached into his pocket. "I, uh..." He finally pulled out a chain and grabbed Rylee's wrist, putting it in her hand. "I got ya somethin'." She looked down and opened her hand to reveal the dog tag. She held it up and observed it. "Nice," she said, then flipped it over. "But my name's not Isaac." "What?" Dean grabbed it from her and looked at the back. Sure enough, the name 'Isaac' was scratched onto the metal. He smiled and looked back to Rylee. "Guess it is now, Isaac." Dean placed the necklace on her and pulled her hair out from underneath the chain. "Thank you," she said. "Yer such a gentleman." He winked at her with a smirk on his face. "Always," he replied.

They stood there for a moment before Daryl called, "Ya comin'?" "What?" Rylee asked. "Huntin'," he responded. She looked from him and back to Dean. "I'll stay here," he said. "You go on. Be careful." She just nodded, then turned and walked off into the woods with Daryl and Rick.

The three found narrow railroad tracks just off the highway and followed them through the woods for a while. "Don't seem like there's any game out today," Rylee mumbled. "We'll find somethin'," Daryl replied. "Eventually."

They all walked in silence until there was an opening in the trees over on their right. They looked over and stopped when they noticed a structure surrounded by chain-link fences and watch towers. It was a prison. "I'll be damned," Rylee said to herself, then heard Daryl mumbled, "That's a shame." The place was perfect except for one small detail: it was filled with walkers. All of them wore prison uniforms though, which meant the place had to have been closed off from the outside. Rick must have realized this because his face lit up and a slight smile spread across it. He had an idea.

* * *

Rick quickly used the bolt cutters to cut a hole in the fence. As he was going to work, Rylee watched as Glenn stabbed a pole through one of the walkers and pinned it against the fence. "Watch the backside," T- Dog ordered and Rick pulled the opening in the fence wide. Dean, Rylee, and T-Dog stayed back, allowing the others to get through first. "Hurry! Hurry!" It was there turn. The three turned and made their way through the fence and Glenn tied it back with some sort of wire with Daryl's help. Once that was done, Daryl lead the way as everyone ran towards the gate. The growls from the undead came from both sides as they made their way down the gravel road between the two fences. There were only a couple walkers on the outside, but several in the prison yard.

The group finally made it to the gate that served as the entrance to the field. "It's perfect," Rick said to himself as he eyed the structure. He then noticed another gate at the other end of the field. "If we can shut that gate, prevent more from fillin' the yard, we can pick off these walkers. We'll take the field by tonight." "You sure?" Dean asked with an eyebrow raised. Rylee replied, "We can pick 'em off. Easy." "So how do we shut the gate?" Hershel asked Rick. "I'll do it," Glenn volunteered. "You guys cover me." "No," Maggie said in protest from behind him. "Suicide run." "I'm fastest," he explained. He wasn't wrong either. Glenn was definitely the speed of the group.

Rick made his way over. "No. You, Maggie, and Beth draw as many as you can over there," he said as he pointed off to the side. "Pop 'em through the fence. Daryl, Dean, go back to the other tower." Rick then turned to Carol. "Carol, you've become a pretty good shot. Take your time, we don't have a lot of ammo to waste." Carol then turned and followed Daryl and Dean to their assigned tower. "Hershel," Rick continued, "you, Rylee, and Carl take this tower. I'll run for the gate." Rylee pulled the rifle strap off of her and was ready to head up the tower, but she stopped and placed a hand on Rick's shoulder. "You sure 'bout this?" she asked him. He nodded. "I'm sure." She removed her hand and sighed to prevent silence. "You be careful. We got yer back." Rick then turned to her, and there was an expression he wore that Rylee had never seen on his face. She couldn't quite figure out what it was herself. It was almost like an expression of trust, if that even existed. With a nod from her, Rylee turned and walked away.

She followed Hershel and Carl up the watch tower until they made it to the top. Rylee propped her gun up on the railing for support and aimed, waiting for Rick to come into view. After a moment, the gate opened and Rick bolted out into the prison yard. The sound of gunshots started filling the area. Rick ran as fast as he could down the gravel path, aiming his revolver and shooting down the undead. Rylee aimed and fired, taking down a walker with every shot. She kept veering her attentiom back to Rick, making sure he had a clear path and wasn't being surrounded. Once he finally made it to the gate, he pulled it closed and headed up the watch tower next to him. "Light it up," she heard Daryl's voice shout from the other tower.

The gunshots kept sounding off and the walkers continued to fall to the ground. Rylee looked up to see Rick had finally appeared at the top of his tower and joined the others in shooting until there was one last shot that sent the very last walker down.

There was a second of silence before realization kicked in that the field was clear. Dean whistled from his tower and shouted, "Hell yeah! That's what I'm talkin' 'bout!" Rylee smiled and shook her head. "We did it," Carl then said in excitement to her. "We sure did," she replied with a smile.

She, Carl, and Hershel quickly made their way down the tower and stepped onto the gravel as Daryl, Dean, and Carol came around the corner. They then headed over to Lori and passed the gate into the yard. "We haven't had this much space since we left the farm," Carol cheered. Rylee smiled at her excitement. Carol hadn't been this happy since they lost Sophia. Actually, the group as a whole hadn't been this happy. Maybe not even Rylee herself.

* * *

Later on after dark, the group made camp and started a fire. Glenn sighed and stared at the bone in his hand as he chewed his food. "Mmm. Just like Mom used to make," he said sarcastically then tossed the bone. Rylee looked over at Rick, who was walking along the fence. "Tomorrow, we'll pull the bodies together," T- Dog explained. "Gotta keep 'em away from that water. Now, if we dig a canal under the fence, we'll have plenty of freshwater." "The soil is good," Hershel added. "We could plant some seed. Grow some tomatoes, cucumbers, soy beans." Dean laid back on his sleeping bag that he had laid out in the grass. "I cud eat tha hell outta some fried green t'maters righ' now." There was a second of silence before Hershel looked over at Rick. "That's his third time around. If there was any part of it compromised, he'da found it by now." Rylee watched Rick observe the fence as he walked passed it. "This would be a good place to have the baby," Beth said to Lori. "It's safe." "Better than any other place," Dean mumbled as he stared up at the stars. "Bethy," Hershel said to his daughter. "Sing Patty Riley for me. I haven't heard that I think since your mother was alive." "Daddy, not that one please," Maggie said. Hershel then looked back to the fire. "How 'bout, uh...Partin' Glass?" "No one wants to hear," Beth softly told her father. "Why not?" Glenn asked. Rylee looked over at her. "I wanna hear." "C'mon, farmer's daughter. Sing it for us," Dean said, not looking away from the sky. Beth smiled and lightly blushed before saying, "Okay." She hesitated before we began singing. It was soft and quiet at first, but then it gradually got louder. Rylee listened as Hershel hummed to the words, but she then heard footsteps. She turned and saw Daryl and Carol approaching. She smiled at them, then turned back to Beth and Maggie joined in singing. Rick had made his way over also and sat down next to Carl.

Silence hung in the air when the singing stopped. "Beautiful," Hershel said. "I second that," Dean said, followed by a yawn. "Better all turn in," Rick informed them. "I'll take watch over there. Gotta big day tomorrow." "What do you mean?" Glenn asked softly. "Look, I know we're all exhausted. This was a great win. But we gotta push just a little bit more. Most of the walkers are dressed as guards and prisoners. Looks like this place fell pretty early. Could mean the supplies may be intact. They have an infirmity, a commissary-" "An armory?" Daryl asked. "Maybe outside the prison itself, but not too far away," Rick explained. "Warden's offices will have the information: weapons, food, medicine. This place could be a gold mine." "I say let's start start diggin'," Dean said as he looked over to Rick. Rylee found herself looking down at him, observing the way the fire cast an orange glow on his face and reflected off of his emerald eyes. "We're dangerously low on ammo," Hershel informed. "We'll run out before we even make a dent." "Well, that's why we have to go in there," Rick replied. "Hand to hand. After what we've been through, we can handle it. I know it." He looked down at his son. "These assholes don't stand a chance." He then looked around at everyone else for a moment, then stood and turned to walk off.

After Rick walked away Lori followed him and Daryl sat down next to Rylee. He sat down and laid his crossbow in the grass next to him. "Tough day at the office?" she asked. Daryl huffed in response and looked at the fire. Rylee looked down. "Well, imma hit tha hay." "Hit tha hay?" Daryl replied. "You won't fall 'sleep 'fore sun rise." She sighed. "Yeah, I know."

The two sat there in an uncomfortable silence as everyone settled down in their sleeping bags. Daryl continued to stare into te firefight, which was burning bright in his sapphire eyes. Rylee looked from him and up to the stars. "You can see every single star in tha sky tonight." He didn't respond verbally, but he slightly nodded his head. She kept her eyes pointed up, but barely leaned over and said, "Y'know, I've always wondered wha' was up 'ere." Daryl then responded this time, but just with a simple, " Yeah?" Rylee then nodded herself. "When I was a lil' girl, I wanted ta be an astronaut. Wanted ta be tha firs' one ta Mars." He seemed amused by this and had a small smile on his face. "It was stupid, though," she then mumbled, grabbing a rock she stopped by her for and started dinging in the ground with it. She could feel his eyes on her when he said, "Tha' ain't stupid." "Yeah, it is,"she said low, giving a sarcastic laugh. "Everybody's got their own dreams," he explained and their eyes met for a moment, but she looked back up to the stars. "Had a dream I went ta Mars once. Turned ma house into a spaceship." He laughed a little as he turned away from her, trying to keep her from noticing. She smiled to herself as she told the story, still digging in the dirt with the rock. "Tha front door was open n' I walked out on tha porch. I looked down n' I remember seein' tha moon under tha house." Daryl sat there silently and listened to Rylee until Dean interrupted, who Rylee thought was asleep. "Ain't ya gonna tell 'im 'bout tha civilization ya found on Mars?" She turned to him and put her hand over his mouth. "Go ta sleep n' quit listenin' ta ma conversation." He tried to say something to her, but Rylee's hand muffled his voice. "Huh?" she asked as she leaned in.

"Wha' was tha'?"

"Geh yer fumin hmm omm mm mouf."

"A civilization?"

It was Daryl who interrupted. Rylee removed her hand from Dean's mouth and turned to him. "It was stupid. There were houses, a school. But tha weird part 'bout it was they were like Greek warriors or some shit like 'at. I don't know." She laughed to herself as her eyes fell back to the dirt.

Rylee was waiting for exhaustion to overtake her, but it seemed to never come. Daryl had already appeared to be tired. She watched him stretch out on the ground and rest his hand on his stomach as he closed his eyes. Then she turned to Dean, who was looking up at her. "What?" she asked, but he just shrugged. "Nothin'," he responded.

Rylee stood after dusting herself off and grabbed up her bow and quiver from the ground. "I'm gonna go take watch with Rick," she mumbled, then walked off towards the gate. There were a few moments before she heard footsteps behind her and she turned to see Dean following. "What is it?" she asked, adjusting the strap to the quiver on her shoulder. "I jus'...wanna say...I think we ain't gotta worry no more...not as much as we have been..." She was a little confused as to why he had approached her just to say that. Her look changed, and the confusion appeared on her face. "What do ya mean?" she asked him. He sighed and stepped towards her so they were inches apart. "We're gonna be okay," he said softly, then Rylee just scoffed and turned away, but he gently grabbed her arm. "C'mon, Rylee. I see it in yer face everytime ya look at me." "Ya see what?" she asked, sounding uncertain. He looked straight into her brown eyes. "Ever since Dale died. Yer worried 'bout somethin'...I ain't goin' no where, Rylee." Her eyes glanced down but came back up. "Wish I could believe that, Dean. But hell, we all thought Dale wouldn't goin' no where." He gently held her chin and lifted her head. "Ain't nothin' gonna kill me but old age. I know I'm all ya got. That's why I ain't goin' anywhere, ya hear?" Rylee hesitated before giving him a small nod and he let go of her. "I'm gonna head back. Ya get ta sleep soon, alrigh'?" "Alrigh'," she responded and she watched him as he turned and walked away from her, heading back to camp.

Rylee thought about what Dean said all night


	15. Tough Shit

It was a couple hours before sunrise before Rylee went back to camp. She settled down there next to Dean and closed her eyes, soon drifting off into sleep.

She was once again back in the narrow hallway that she felt closed into. The growls were coming, but they were more clear this time. They were less muffled and didn't echo. But the undead was closer this time also. They were reaching out and grabbing her clothes as she struggled to break free. "Dean! Help me!" she tried to call, but no sound came out. "Dean!" Rylee broke free from a couple of the strong grips, but her eyes looked forward and she was shocked at what she saw. There stood a woman with blonde hair, staring her down hungrily with dead, gray eyes. "Andrea..." she breathed out. The walker growled at her as Rylee looked down at a very large, noticeable bite on her shoulder. "Andrea!" The walker lunged for Rylee and grabbed her head, pushing it so it was tilted and bit into her flesh. Rylee screamed feeling the pain shoot up her neck and down her shoulder. The copper taste of blood filled her mouth when the teeth sunk deeper into her skin. "D...D...De..." She could no longer call out for Dean. Rylee's knees buckled and she fell to the ground. "Rylee," someone called. "Get up." "Daryl!" She knew the voice. "Daryl! Help!" The last thing Rylee saw when she looked up was the rotting faces of the walkers as they reached down for her.

Then she woke up.

Rylee's eyes snapped open to reveal Daryl leaning over her. He quickly grabbed her wrists and held her down before she could lunge at him. "Woah, now." She blinked at him as she breathed hard. "Jus' me." Rylee sighed in relief and laid her head back closing her eyes then Daryl let go of her. "Wha' was it?" She shot him a confused glance. "What?" "Ya needed my help with somethin'?" he replied. Rylee raised up and rubbed her eyes. "No." Daryl sat down in the grass next to her. "Ya have 'em nightmares a lot?" he asked. She didn't respond right away. She closed her eyes and held her head as she felt a growing pain behind her eyes. "Every once in a while," she finally answered. Daryl looked at her and she met eyes with him. "What?" she asked. He just looked down and shrugged. "I'm alright." His eyes went back to hers and he nodded. "Alrigh'," he said. "Rick says we're headin' in tha' prison in a lil' bit. Wanted me ta come make sure you's awake." Rylee nodded. "I'm awake."

After a while, Glenn, Maggie, Rick, T-Dog, Daryl, Rylee and Dean were ready to go into the courtyard of the prison. Dean patted Rylee on the back. "Let's be careful. Yeah?" Rylee had her knife drawn and held it up, ready to attack. "Right back at ya," she replied.

Rick removed the chain he put on the gate the day before and Hershel grabbed onto it. "Ready?" he asked everyone. After earning a few nods, Hershel pulled the gate open and everyone went in. T-Dog was the first one to take down a walker. Daryl was the second and everyone else followed this action as they made their way across the courtyard in a circle formation with their backs to each other. This was so they wouldn't have a blind spot and weren't vulnerable to sudden walker attacks. There were sounds of blade slicing bone every couple seconds, followed by blood splatter. Rylee could hear the others outside the fence trying to lure the walkers away by yelling at them.

Suddenly, one of them started coming at Rylee. Once it got close, she went to attack it, but Daryl jumped in the way and stabbed his knife into its skull. It fell to the ground in front of her and when it did, he looked up with a smirk on his face. That was my kill, asshole, she thought to herself.

The group continued to make their way across the courtyard. One by one, walkers were falling to the ground around them. "Almost there," Rick said as they came up on a door that was cracked open. He pushed it open and looked inside, but just around the corner, Rylee could hear more growls. "Shit," Rick said, then lifted his hand to signal everyone to stop. It seemed Rick noticed something, so Rylee looked up and way ahead of them, two walkers wearing bullet proof armour came from around a dumpster. "What tha fuck?" she mumbled to herself. Suddenly, two more came around the corner and she watched as one of Daryl's arrows bounced off its helmet. Rick and T-Dog went after them, but Rylee heard a growl from behind her. She quickly turned around to see a female walker approaching. Rylee raised her knife, but once qgain, Daryl jumped in front of her. He swung his crossbow, hitting the walker across the face and sending it to its knees. She watched as Daryl grabbed a handful of its hair and and stabbed his knife in its head. "Do it again, ya sneaky bastard," Rylee dared. He responded with another smirk, but it quickly faded when Rick called to him. "Daryl!" He quickly made his way over, killing each walker that got in his way. Rylee grabbed up the arrow he left on the ground and followed.

Once Daryl made it over to Rick, he pulled the gate closed and Rick put the chain on it. After that was done, he turned and went after one of the walkers wearing a suit of bullet proof armour. He stood there in front of it as it growled and approached him, but Rylee ran up behind it, pushed its helmet up, and stabbed Daryl's arrow in the back of its skull. It then fell to the ground and he looked up at her. "Pisses ya off, don't it?" she asked him harshly. He responded with a huff and shook his head.

There was a silence in the air, except for the walkers behind the fence growling at them. The group looked at all the corpses laying around as they stood there. Glenn was making his way over to let the others in, but Rick called, "Stop." Glenn turned around and looked at him confused. "But...it looks secure." "Not from the look o' tha' courtyard over there," Daryl told him as he pointed to the gate they just closed. "And that's a civilian," he added, indicating the female walker he killed. "The interior could be overrun from walkers from outside the prison," T-Dog mumbled. "Well, if there's walls down, what are we gonna do?" Glenn asked. "We can't rebuild this whole place." "We can't risk a blind spot," Rick replied as he looked around. "We have ta push in."

And that's what they did. Rick led them over to a door enclosed by a sort of gate with a roof over head. They slowly made their way up the steps and Daryl pulled the heavy door open. Just before Rylee stepped in, Dean called to her in a whisper. She turned, but noticed he held his hand out. Rylee looked down to see a pistol in his hand. "Just in case," he whispered and she took it from his hand.

When she turned back, she went inside of the building and Dean closed the behind them, nearly swallowing them in shadows. The room was quiet. It looked to be a small cafeteria with a high ceiling. Every sound of each footstep echoed off of the walls, giving the building an eerie atmosphere. Rylee felt as if she had just stepped into a large tomb. She looked to Rick, who met her gaze then looked up to a watch tower on the other side of the room and knew exactly what he was thinking. He was going to go up there. Rylee watched him as he began to make his way over, but she called as quietly as she could, "Be careful." She could hear Rick's footsteps when he got to the room at the top, but they stopped once he was inside. Rylee could see his silhouette through the dusty glass of the room, but after she waited a moment, the sound of keys hitting against each other filled the room. Rick held up his hand as he faced Daryl and he responded with a nod.

Once Rick came back down, he used one of the keys to open the door to the cellblock. It opened with a quiet screeching sound and the group pushed in. There was still complete silence with the exception of Rick's heavy footsteps as he made his way over to a cell and peered in. Rylee stopped next to Maggie, who stood there studying the inside to one if the cells. She looked in too and saw a body of a man laid back against the wall. A bullet wound marked his forehead and blood painted the wall just above him. Maggie turned to Rylee with an almost saddened look on her face, but Rylee only responded with a shrug and continued on.

She continued to check the cells until there was a sound above her on the upper floor. Rylee stepped back to see over the railing and spotted Rick and Daryl making their way towards the noise. They walked down the line until suddenly, a walker slammed against the door to his closed cell and reached his arms out through the bars, trying with everything it had to get to Daryl. Rylee shook her head as she watched it, but then another walker appeared in the cell right next to it. After they exchanged looks, Rick and Daryl took there knives and impaled their skulls, resulting in the bodies hitting the floor.

After they decided the cellblock was secure, Glenn and Maggie fetched the others and they soon came inside, carrying their belongings. Rick noticed them, then came down the steps. "What do you think?" he asked them all. "Home sweet home," Glenn said as he passed him and went into a cell. "For the time being," her responded. Dean sighed as he looked around at the walls and ceiling of the structure. "No better place ta be in when there's an outbreak o' cannibal freaks. This place was built ta keep yer ass in here."

"It's secure?" Carol asked. "Cellblock is," Rick answered. Everyone looked around and it appeared they weren't sure what to think. Sure, it wasn't any five-star hotel with soft carpets and a fireplace in the lobby, but it was shelter. Dean seemed completely comfortable, but he had done a good bit of time in the slammer, so this was the kind of place he was used to.

"What about the rest of the prison?" Hershel asked. "In the morning," Rick explained, "we'll find the cafeteria and infirmary." There was a fraction of a second before Beth asked, "We sleep in the cells?" "Yup. Unless ya wanna sleep in tha floor," Rylee teased then lightly patted her on the back. "Found some keys on some guards," Rick said. "Daryl has a set, too."

"I ain't sleepin' in no cage. I'll take tha pirch."

Rylee turned to see Daryl claim his spot there. She shook her head and turned back to Dean. "Pick us a cell," he ordered. "Me? Yer tha one with all tha prison experience. You pick one." He groaned, then rolled his eyes. "Damn, woman. Jus' like askin' a girl where she wants ta eat. 'I don't care'," he mocked in a high-pitched voice as he turned and went up the steps to where Daryl was. She followed him into the cell right behind Daryl, leaving the cells on the lower floor to everyone else. "I git tha top bunk," he said as he sat hid bag on the mattress. "What if I want tha top bunk?" she asked as she sat on the mattress on the lower bunk. "Tough shit," he said as he climbed into the bed, then laid down and stretched out, letting his right leg dangle off the edge.

Just as Rylee sat her bag down on the floor, she heard footsteps approach the cell and stood in the door way.

"Nice place ya'll got here," Daryl's voice stated. Rylee looked over at him and shrugged her shoulders. "Better than sleepin' in a damn tent. Back's killin' me from layin' on tha ground so much." "It'll do it," he replied, eyes falling to the floor. Rylee situated her things and laid back, looking up to him. "I ain't too sure how I feel 'bout you bein' able ta go in n' outta my cell whenever ya want." Daryl scoffed and leaned against the door way. "Why tha hell would I ever come in here in tha firs' place?" She shrugged once more, but after he stood there a moment, he disappeared into the cell next door and dragged the mattress out onto the perch.

Rylee's eyes went from Daryl and over to a spot on the wall plastered with blood. It was a sad sight to see. The person in this cell was just waiting for the they'd be free again. Maybe it was a long sentence, maybe it was a short one. She began to ask herself questions about the owner of the blood. What were they in for? How long had they been there? Where they someone everyone got along with or were the constantly beaten down and made fun of? Did they have family on the outside whom they write letters to everyday?

"Hey, Dean?"

"Yeah?"

"Is prison really as bad as everyone makes it out ta be?"

"Ya ain't never been?"

"Got arrested one time when I's sixteen, but nah."

She heard him sigh and listened to the sounds the bunk made as he shifted a little. "Guess it jus' depends," he answered. "Wouldn't all that bad for me. I got along with pretty much everybody. 'Cept tha Hispanics. They never liked me for some reason. But I did git ta missin' ma family every now n' then." He got silent for a second. "Hell, I miss ma family now," he added softly, and it sounded as if he was on the verge of tears.

Rylee could hear the sadness in his voice and just that statement alone was depressing. It almost made she herself want to cry. It made her think of her own family that she lost. Her mother's face flashed in her mind, then her sister's. "Yeah," she finally replied. "I miss mine too." Then it hit her. The tears built in her eyes and she stood, walking out of the cell and making her way to their railing.

"Carol, can you get Hershel for me, please?"

It was Lori's voice from below. Rylee watched Carol make her way to the end of the cellblock and look into their other room where Hershel was. "Hershel?" she called. There was a second before Rick's voice asked. "Everything alright?" "Yeah," Carol responded. "Nothing to worry about."

Rylee watched Hershel emerge from the room and head into Lori's cell beneath her. "Is something wrong?" he asked as he disappeared under the railing. She could hear Lori sigh and there was a moment of silence before she spoke. "It's the baby. I think I lost it." Rylee was shocked by this statement, but continued to listen. "You haven't felt it move?" Hershel asked Lori. "Nothin'," she replied. Rylee put her face in her hands. Lori couldn't lose the baby. She couldn't. What would it do to Carl and Rick?

"At first, I thought it was from exhaustion and malnutrition," Lori added. "You're anemic," Hershel then reminded her. There was another silent moment. "If we're all infected, then so is the baby," she said. "So what if it's stillborn? What if it's dead inside me right now and what if it rips me apart?"

"Stop," Hershel ordered. "Don't let your fear take control of you." Rylee heard Lori sniffling at that point. "Say it lives and I die during childbirth." "That's not going to happen," Hershel assured. "Why not?" Lori asked him. "How many women died in childbirth before modern medicine? If I come back, what if I attack it? Or you, Rick, or Carl? If I do, if there is any chance, you put me down immediately. You don't hesitate. Me, the baby..."

Her voice started to crack slightly and she couldn't finish. Rylee's heart broke as she listened to Lori talk to Hershel.

"If we're walkers, you don't hesitate. You don't try to save us. Okay?"

It got quiet for a second Lori asked that question, but she spoke again.

"It would've been better," she said. "What?" Hershel asked her. She took a breath before saying, "If I never made it off the farm." A tear rolled down Rylee's face. This woman was so scared for herself and her unborn child. And Rylee could admit she was also scared.

"You were exhausted, frightened," Hershel said. "Yeah," Lori replied. "That's true...My son can't stand me...and my husband, after what I put him through." "We've all been carryin' that weight," Hershel told her. "All winter."

"I tried to talk to him," Lori said, her voice cracking again. "He'll come around," said Hershel. Lori's breathing was the only thing audible before she said, "He hates me. He's too good a man to say it, but...I know."

Rylee turned and went back into her cell, sniffling and wiping her eyes. She knew Dean would see her crying, but she didn't care. "Aye, what's wrong?" he asked, sitting up as Rylee sat down on her bunk. He hopped down and sat next to her. "You alright?"

"How're we s'posed ta do this?" she asked him. "Do what?" he asked as he tucked her hair behind her ear and brushed the left over strands out of her face. "Live like 'is? Constantly be afraid o' dyin'? How're we s'posed ta keep losin' people?"

"Woah, slow down," Dean said softly. "Nobody's goin' anywhere-"

"Don't give me that bullshit!"

Rylee stood and started pacing back and forth. Dean stood also and grabbed a hold of her shoulders. "Hey, calm down. It's alright," he said softly. "No, it's not, Dean," she whispered as she looked into his eyes. "It's not. It's never gonna be. Ever since this group lost that lil' girl, it's gone inta a downward spiral."

"What do ya mean? Rylee, look where we are. We're safe now-"

"No, we're not. We're never gonna be. Those things out there ain't tha only thing we have ta worry about. There's diseases, conditions. When I laid my eyes on that lil' girl for tha firs' time, I jus' saw another person. But when them walkers went for her, she screamed n' ran. Then I saw me, Dean. That was me. It was tha same thing I done when my momma n' my sister got killed. I cried, I screamed, then I ran for my goddamn life. Jus' like she did."

"Rylee-"

He reached for her arm, but she jerked away from him. Rylee turned and exited the cell, and going down to the lower floor. Everyone was there giving her concerning looks as she wiped her eyes, but she then noticed all of the guns.

"What's all 'is?" she asked. "We're...we're headin' further into the prison," Rick answered. "We could use the help of you or Dean taggin' along."

"I'll go get Dean," she responded, then turned and headed back to her cell.


	16. John 14:2

The group followed Rick and were heading deeper into the prison. Daryl stuck the key into the keyhole and opened the door, revealing the rest of the dark and quiet building.

Daryl and Rick lead the way with Glenn, T-Dog, Maggie, Hershel, and Dean following. They went around the corner of the narrow hallway and discovered bodies laying on the there ground and prison cells standing wide open. Dean look around at the dark scenery until suddenly touched his foot causing him to bump right into somebody next to him. He looked down and saw a still corpse laying there, then turned to see who he had jumped into and there stood Glenn. "Sorry," Dean whispered to him and Glenn just shook his head.

Once they came up on another corner, Glenn took a can of white spray paint and painted a large, white arrow. This was just so they wouldn't get lost. The group walked a few more feet before they heard Maggie suddenly cry out. Dean flashed his flashlight on him and it appeared she had turned and ran into Glenn. "It's alright," Glenn whispered to her.

The atmosphere was very creepy. They all expected something to jump out at them at any moment, all of them breathing heavy and staying alert. Rick stopped at another turn, as did the others. He hesitated, then jumped around the corner and the others followed as Glenn spray painted another arrow on the wall.

They continued this process until Rick looked around the corner and suddenly, they heard growling...a lot of growling. "Go back! Go back," Rick ordered and they obeyed. Dean turned back around and Daryl got to the front of the group, taking the lead. "This way," Rick then called. Dean ran in front of Maggie and Glenn, but as he went to take another turn, he met with a group of walkers. He quickly turned back, almost running into the two and pointed over to Daryl. "Over there," he said. "C'mon! This way," Daryl instructed. He led the group down an empty hallway but as they passed an area where it branched off, walkers appeared behind Dean and caught him off guard until T-Dog grabbed his arm. "Come on," he demanded.

They all went into a small room and quickly shut the door behind them. There was hardly enough space for the five of them and they were all squeezed together. "Where's Glenn and Maggie?" Rick asked. "They were behind me," Dean explained, "but they jus' disappeared." "We have to go back," Hershel told Rick. Then Daryl asked, "Which way?" Rick just simply stood and the others followed his lead as he opened the door and peeked out. They stepped out into the now empty hall, shining their flashlights around. "Maggie," Hershel called. "Glenn?" There was no answer. His voice only echoed off of the walls. Dean shone his light on all of the corpses laying around as Hershel continued to call, but suddenly he cried out in agony. The light went from a body and over to Hershel where a walker had grabbed into him and bit down onto his calf. Dean grabbed his knife and went to attack, but just as he drew his weapon, Rick came around the corner and fired his gun. Just as the gunfire echoed through the building, Maggie and Glenn appeared, but further behind them, walkers came around the corridor and started to approach. Glenn and T-Dog grabbed up Hershel and Daryl shot down one of the walkers with his crossbow.

They all turned and moved as fast as they could down the hallway until they came upon a set of double doors. Everyone was on edge and were all yelling over in another as the door was pushed open and everyone went inside, Daryl being the last and pushing the doors shut. T-Dog and Dean accompanied him in holding the doors shut as the others laid Hershel down on the floor. However, once Dean approached, Daryl placed an arrow in the door handles, then made his way back over to Hershel, who continued to groan in pain. Rick pulled up his pant leg, then took a belt and wrapped it around the limb above the bite. He then reached over to a bag and pulled out a hatchet. Dean knew what he was about to do and his eyes widened at the sight. "Only one way to keep you alive," Rick said then raised the hatchet and brought it back down on Hershel's shin. He did this multiple times until finally the limb was off, but Hershel had passed out by then. Rick dropped the hatchet once he was finished, then looked at the others. "He's bleedin' out," he said, but then suddenly, there were dark figures that appeared on the other side of the room that was blocked off by a wall of bars. Daryl immediately stood and aimed his crossbow at the figures, but as he did, his flashlight shone on them to reveal five men in prison uniforms.

"Holy shit," one of them said.

* * *

Rylee laid there on her bunk, facing towards the wall and tracing the cracks in it with her eyes.

She couldn't deny that she was worried about the others who had gone with Rick further into the prison. There was no telling what they would find or what they'd run into. Sending Dean instead of going herself was a mistake, even if she felt she was too upset to be able to focus on protecting the people who had gone. The thought of him not coming back made her sick to her stomach.

"Rylee?" a soft voice called from the doorway, and she recognized it as Carol's. "Piss off," she replied, not looking away from the wall. There were footsteps that approached and then she felt the mattress sink down behind her. "You remind me of Daryl," Carol told her. "He has a tendency of being cruel when he's upset." Rylee stared at the wall for a moment before asking, "Ya heard it, didn't ya?" Carol sighed. "We all did," she said. "Especially the part about Sophia." Rylee then closed her eyes. When she had that moment with Dean, she didn't care who heard what she was saying, but now she wished she kept her mouth shut.

"She's safe now," Carol added. "She's in a much better place. She isn't afraid anymore." Rylee never really did believe in God and heaven, but she wasn't going to deny its existence right then. It was Carol's belief. She then thought about her mother and asked herself what she would say. "'And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.' John 14:2." She finally looked over at Carol, who appeared to be surprise at the fact Rylee just quoted the Bible. "My momma was strong in faith. When ma Aunt June died o' cancer, that's what she told me. Yep. Momma knew that Bible like tha back o' her hand. She'd sit in 'er rockin' chair by tha window n' she'd read that Bible all damn day. That was adder ma daddy left. 'Fore then, she'd only git ta read it when he was asleep. He hated it when she prayed or talked about tha Lord. He never let 'er go ta church neither, but she never really could anyway. He was at work all tha time n' when he wouldn't at work, he was at tha bar."

"Your mother sounds like a lovely woman," Carol said. Rylee nodded once. "She was," she replied. "She was so beautiful n' she had tha prettiest smile. Had tha most beautiful voice, she was a damn good sanger. When she was doin' chores 'round tha house, she'd go 'round sangin' ol' gospel songs. I loved ta heard Momma sang. It's almost like I can hear her sangin' every now n' then." Carol's smile grew wider. "Well, wherever she is, I'm sure she's singing her heart out." Rylee finally returned the smile that Carol had been giving her.

"I don't doubt that."

* * *

"Who tha hell're you?" Daryl asked as he approached the men, keeping his crossbow raised.

"Who the hell are you?" one of them responded.

Rick looked down at Hershel's now missing leg then back up. "He's bleedin' out," he said. "We gotta go back." He looked around at everyone surrounding Hershel. "Put pressure on the knee. Hard, hard!" Maggie did as instructed while Daryl kept his eyes locked on the strange men. "Ya'll come on outta there," he demanded from behind the loaded arrow. "Slow n' steady."

They did as they were told and came out into the room where the rest of them where. All of them appeared to be obviously confused by the situation. "What happened to him?" asked a man with long, dark hair hanging down to his shoulders. "He got bit," Daryl answered, still not lowering his crossbow. "Bit?" he asked as he grabbed a pistol from the waistband of his uniform, but as he did, T-Dog and Dean immediately drew their pistols. "Nobody needs ta get hurt," Daryl told him. "Do you have medical supplies?" Glenn asked as he hurriedly made his way passed them and into the back of the room, but as he did, Dean and T-Dog turned when they heard growling and banging on the set of doors behind them. "Oh, shit," Dean cursed under his breath. "We gotta hurry." "Who the hell are you people anyway?" the prisoner with the gun asked. "You don't look like no rescue team," another stated. "Come on, we gotta go," Rick said as Glenn pushed a cart into the room. Dean put his pistol away and went over to help Rick get Hershel onto the cart. Glenn and Rick lifted his upper body as Dean grabbed his leg and what was left over of the other one, then Dean grabbed his gun again as T-Dog removed the arrow and opened one of the doors. A single walker came through the door, but T-Dog took it out. "Daryl! Daryl," Rick called and Daryl was hesitant to turn away from the men and leave with the others.

They moved as fast as they could down the hallway, going back to the cellblock where the others were. One by one, the followed the arrows until the came to a halt and saw shadows on the walls behind them. There came the prisoners they had encountered moments before. "Go, go, go," Daryl repeated as he stayed at the rear, glancing back every few seconds at the men following them.

Once they got to the room just outside the cellblock, they pushed Hershel in and Rick called, "Open the door! It's Hershel!" Seconds after he called, Carl quickly stuck the key in and turned it, opening the door and allowing them through. Daryl, Dean, and T-Dog stayed in the other room, but Dean could hear Rylee's panicked voice. "What tha hell's goin' on? Where's Dean?" She suddenly appeared at the door of the cellblock, her face pale from terror. Dean turned to her and over to the door, but she glanced down and noticed a spot of blood on his white wife beater under his sleeveless, red flannel. "Oh my god, what happened?" she asked. "I'm fine. Go help tha others," he instructed as he caressed her face, leaving a mark of blood from his crimson hand. She nodded and quickly turned back.

Daryl now had his crossbow aimed at the open doorway where they came from and Dean aimed his gun. They waited in silence as the noised in the hallway got closer. Then the prisoners slowly stepped out of the darkness and into the light. "That's far enough," Daryl said. The rest of them appeared and the long-haired one pointed towards the cellblock. "Cellblock C," he said. "Cell four, that's mine, gringo. Let me in." "Ya ain't gittin' nowhere near that cell," Dean said from behind his gun. "Today's your lucky day, fellas. Pardoned by tha state o' Georgia, your free ta go," Daryl told them. "What's going on in there," the prisoner then asked. "Ain't none o' your concern," Daryl replied. The prisoner then reached for his gun. "Don't be telling me what's my concern." "Chill, man," one of the others said. He was a large, muscled up, black man with a beard. "Dude's leg is messed up. Besides, we're free now. What are we still doin' here?" "Man's gotta point," Daryl said. "Y'know, I gotta check on my ol' lady," another prisoner added, who was a bald, black man. "Group of civilians, breaking into a prison," said the long-haired one, "you got no business being in, got me thinking there's no place to go." "Why don't ya go find out?" Daryl growled. "Maybe we'll just be goin' now," a prisoner with a large mustache said. "Hey, we ain't leaving," their leader stated. Then T-Dog stepped out of the shadows with his gun. "You ain't comin' in neither." The leader of the prisoners looked from Daryl, to Dean, then to T-Dog. "Hey, this is my house, my rules, I go where I damn well please." Dean huffed and the prisoner's eyes shot over in his direction. "What, you got something to say, white boy?" he asked. "Ain't nobody's house," Dean said. "Jus' where they cage tha animals. Place like 'is, tha asshole in tha cell next to ya thinks it's his house, too. Anybody says otherwise, he'll beat 'em down. Him _and_ his boys."

This angered the prisoner and he began shouting, which lead to Daryl shouting back. They exchanged a variety of threats and insults before Rick eventually came into the room. "Everyone relax," he said. "There's no need for this." Rick then turned to Dean and placed a hand on his shoulder. "We've got it here. Go to Rylee. She's a bit shaken up." Dean gave him a nod then made his way over to the door where Carl was standing. "Lemme git in here," he said and Carl let him in, then closed the door behind him.

When he entered the cellblock, he saw her standing there outside of Hershel's cell with her hand over her mouth. He made his way over to her and asked, "Are you alright?" She watched the others go to work on Hershel and didn't respond right away. "I had a bad feeling about, 'bout ya'll goin' in there. I shoulda stopped ya'll." Dean kissed her forehead and pulled her into a hug, but she kept her eyes on Hershel. "Wouldn't on you. Don't blame yourself," he said to her softly. "You smell really bad," she said into her chest. He laughed a little in response. "You do too."

They stayed there next to Hershel for a while until Rick and T-Dog came back into the cellblock carrying boxes. "Foods here," T-Dog called as Carl opened up the door. "Whatcha got?" he asked. "Canned beef, canned corn, canned cans. A lot more where this came from," T-Dog answered. Rick approached, carrying two large bags of corn. "Any change?" he asked. "Bleeding is under control and no fever," Lori replied. "But his breath is labored and his pulse is way down and he hasn't opened his eyes yet." Rick looked into the cell at Hershel, then turned around. "Take my cuffs. Put 'em on him. Not takin' any chances." Glenn grabbed the cuffs from Rick's belt.

There were a few moments before Rick made his way back over, then looked to Rylee and Dean. "We're clearin' out a cellblock for those prisoners. I know neither one of you might feel up for it, but we need all the man power we can get." Rylee nodded, then looked to Dean. "I'm goin' this time," she said, but Dean shook his head. "No ya ain't. Yer stayin' here."

"I'd feel more comfortable if both of you went. But then again, I'm only asking. I'm not forcin' either one of you to," Rick interrupted, resulting in Dean and Rylee to exchange looks. "We can do that," Dean said.

"Alright," Rick responded. "Let's get geared up then."


End file.
